DOH launches Hi-5 in Surigao City
By Susil D. Ragas
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Aug. 13 (PIA) -
The Department of Health (DOH) Caraga recently launched its High Impact 5 or
Hi-5 program on Monday morning at the Caraga Regional Hospital (CRH), this
city.
DOH Caraga assistant regional director Dr. Cesar
Cassion said the program seeks to ensure the attainment of the Millennium
Development Goals of universal health care such as reduction of infant and
under-five mortality rate, reducing maternal mortality rate, halting HIV-AIDs
cases, and increasing the service delivery networks in poor communities and
far-flung areas.
“The launching of this program is also aimed to
intensify and increase support from the private and government sectors of the
region,” Cassion said.
Other activities during the whole day event were
lecture on the importance of breast feeding, synchronized breast feeding, free
new born screening for indigents, free HIV screening and counseling, free drug
testing, free anti-rabies injection, blood letting, anti-smoking campaign, hand
washing and tooth brushing demo, lecture on Tuberculosis, and Hataw Exercise.
Present during the launching were CRH
officer-in-charge Dr. Cheryl Gotinga, DOH Surigao del Norte team leader Erwin
Pingal and other hospital and DOH officials. (SDR/PIA-Surigao del Norte)
New DAR project kicks off in Caraga
By Joie L. Ceballos
BUTUAN CITY, Aug. 13 (PIA) - The Project
Convergence on Value Chain Enhancement for Rural Growth and Empowerment
(Project ConVERGE) of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) kicks off in
Caraga with an Action Planning Workshop held on August 10-12, 2015, this city.
The project will cover four agrarian reform
community clusters, one each from Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del
Norte and Surigao del Sur.
DAR Caraga regional director Julita Ragandang said
that there are four priority commodities to be assisted by the project. These
are the abaca of municipalities of Tubay, Jabonga, Kitcharao and Santiago of
Agusan del Norte; rice of the municipalities of Veruela, Trento, Bunawan and
Sta. Josefa of Agusan del Sur; coffee of the municipalities of Barobo and
Tagbina of Surigao Sur and coco coir of the municipalities of Claver, Gigaquit,
Bacuag and Placer of Surigao del Norte.
Ragandang also said that the project covers the
product development and enhancement, institutional development, provision of equipment
and infrastructure component like farm-to-market roads, to help the
beneficiaries in marketing their produce and eventually improve their quality
of life.
The project will be implemented from 2015-2020 and
is co-funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) of
the United Nations. (DAR-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
Agnor solon named as finalist in 6th RAFI
Triennial Awards
BUTUAN CITY, Aug. 13 (PIA) - Rep. Lawrence Lemuel
H. Fortun of the First District of Agusan del Norte has been chosen one of the
three finalists in the 6th Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI) Triennial
Awards for Exemplary Individuals.
The RAFI Triennial Awards are conferred every
three years to honor those men, women, and organizations, who, through their
efforts and selfless commitment bring about change in the lives of the
less-privileged in various groups and communities in the Philippines. About 300
have been nominated for the award.
Fortun was chosen as finalist for his work in
organizing lawyers and other volunteers to go to remote communities to extend
free legal and related services for the registration of births of children and
also adults who lack birth certificates. This outreach program, which he
started about seven years ago, has now served not less than eight thousand
individuals who have not been able to obtain birth certificates due to poverty
and distance.
At the Leaders of Change Forum in Cebu City
recently where he was a speaker, Fortun expressed disappointment in the current
civil registration system that “actually penalizes the poor for being poor.” He
said “poverty is, almost always, the reason for a parent’s failure to register
the birth of his or her child, and by imposing fees for delayed registration, the
state is actually penalizing the poor.”
“Aside from the application fee which local civil
registrar requires, an application for late birth registration has to be
supported with two affidavits, namely, an affidavit of delayed registration and
a joint affidavit of two disinterested persons who will attest to the fact of
birth. This makes delayed birth registration too cumbersome for the
less-privileged,” Fortun said.
Fortun emphasized that the right to identity is a
most fundamental human right. “Before we even talk about other human rights, we
have to start with, first and foremost, recognizing the existence of the human
being,” he pointed out.
The young legislator also said, “Without that
basic document, that is, the birth certificate, one’s existence is not known
and for that reason, he or she cannot exercise his or her rights as a citizen.”
He also asserted, “this is actually a human rights issue because there can be
no greeter violation of human rights than not recognizing the existence of the
human being.”
Fortun’s efforts inspired other lawyers who later
on joined him in visiting remote barangays to extend free legal services for
birth registration. The city government of Butuan has also been moved by his
initiative as the Sangguniang Panlungsod passed an ordinance providing for free
at least one day of every month where the local civil registrar facilitates
free late registration for indigents.
Fortun, however, said that while this is a welcome
development, it still does not address the problem on a long-term basis. He
said, “the lack of mechanism for birth registration right in the community
makes this an endless cycle.”
For this reason, Fortun brought his advocacy to
the halls of Congress and principally authored a house bill known as The Civil
Registration Act of 2014 to institutionalize a Barangay Civil Registration
System to once and for all address the concern. The bill has been approved by
the Committee on Population.
For this consistent and persistent advocacy to
assert the poor’s right to identity, alongside with efforts for the environment
and grassroots sports development, Fortun has been hailed one of the three
finalists for the RAFI Triennial Awards for Exemplary Individuals. Other
finalists are Father Carmelo Diola of Cebu City and Anita Castillon of Lake
Sebu, Cotabato.
Father Diola is into good governance advocacy
aimed at achieving “faith-impelled social change by working with and through
companions, by helping public servants, elected officials, government
officials, voters and the youth translate good intentions into good actions.”
Castillon, more known to the people of Lake Sebu
as “Nanay Anita,” is an educator and community organizer who worked to establish
a school for T’boli children who have no access to formal education due to
distance and poverty.
The three will be honored in a fitting ceremony on
the Awards Night on August 14, 2015 at the Cebu Convention Center where the 6th
RTA Awardee will also be announced. (Lawig Katawhan/PIA-Agusan del Norte)
SurSur guv assures capitol employees of PEI
By Greg Tataro Jr.
TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, Aug. 13 (PIA) –
The wait of capitol employees here for announcement of the release of
Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) bonus was over.
Governor Johnny Pimentel told employees during the
regular flag ceremony program on Monday that much that he wanted to grant a 100
percent PEI, equivalent to a month salary for every permanent employee, but the
province does not have enough funds in its coffers.
“Actually, naningkamot gayod kami na makahanap nan
pondo but P21 million di gayod nato kaya.
So, ato nalang kini himay-himayon, actually naay akong gitago na pondo
na para untana ‘ni sa mga infrastructure projects. So we came up with the
figure of P15 million, so amo na lang gi-compute... so we will release 75
percent of your salary,” he explained in a mix of English and local dialect.
Most, if not all of the Capitol employees here,
have already been so eager to hear any word that has something to do with the
PEI, it was learned.
Meanwhile, provincial administrator Efren Rivas
said that it might take some time before PEI can be released, citing the
process the “supplemental budget” has to undergo at the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan. (NGBT/Radyo ng Bayan-Tandag/PIA-Surigao del Sur)
