3 Hinatuan entries qualify for National Gawad
Kalasag search
By Nida Grace P. Barcena
TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, Jan. 26 (PIA) – After
making it on the top three short list, the Hinatuan Municipal Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council is moving up towards another national award
for Gawad KALASAG (KAlamidad at sakuna LAbanan SAriling Galing ang kaligtasan).
Last year, under first to third class municipality,
Hinatuan town was adjudged as first place in the entire country.
Other two entries from Hinatuan town both included
in the short lists of the assessor team are Hinatuan District Hospital for
Hospital Category, and NAMAHIN for People’s Organizations Category.
The National Validators Team is currently in
Hinatuan town for their field assessment and validation.
Hinatuan Mayor and MDRRMC Chairperson Shem Garay is
optimistic that Hinatuan can snatch a top place in the national level for 2016.
“Whatever award we can receive in the national
level, we will accept it gratefully as it is the fruit of our hard work and
dedication in disaster risk reduction and management,” Mayor Garay said.
The Gawad KALASAG award is given to individuals,
non-government organizations, private sector, and government organizations in
recognition of their initiatives in helping the government uplift the standard
of disaster management in the country. (with a report from
LGU-Hinatuan/PIA-Surigao del Sur)
DTI trains 15 SurSur LGUs on revised BPLS
By Nida Grace P. Barcena
TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, Jan. 26 (PIA) – About
26 employees from 15 local government units (LGUs) were trained by the
Department of Trade and Industry-Surigao del Sur (DTI-SDS) provincial office on
Revised Business Permit and Licensing System (BPLS) standards held recently
held at the Negosyo Center, this city.
According to Senior Trade and Industry Development
Specialist Sarah Estrada, the discussions were centered on the Department of
Interior and Local Government-Department of Trade and Industry-Department of Information
and Communication Technology (DILG-DTI-DICT) Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1,
Series of 2016 issued on September 9, 2016.
On the other hand, Senior Fire Officer Necasio
Rocha of the Bureau of Fire Protection shared the Fire Safety Inspection Clearance
process and the computation of fees, while Engr. Leo Urbiztondo of the DICT
presented the BPLS related programs for LGUs of DICT.
The DTI-SDS provided hands-on training using EXCEL
to acquaint the participants on the filling-out of revised BPLS unified form,
including preparation and generation of BPLS-related directory that other
national agencies require.
According to Estrada, the LGUs of Lingig, San
Agustin, Marihatag, Cagwait and Cortes were recognized as BPLS-compliant with
the DILG-DTI JMC No. 1, Series of 2010 as metric. (PIA-Surigao del Sur)
TESDA-Caraga chief lays out 2017 direction settings
By Robert E. Roperos
BUTUAN CITY, Jan. 26 (PIA) – OIC Regional Director
Rey M. Cueva of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA)-Caraga on Tuesday laid out direction settings of the agency for 2017.
Speaking before the members of the Executive
Committee Meeting composed of provincial directors and heads of offices of
TESDA-Caraga, Dir. Cueva emphasized that the directions of the regional and
provincial offices of the region including the TESDA Technology Institutions
(TTIs) is based on the 17-point agenda of TESDA Director-General – Sec. Guiling
A. Mamondiong.
The official said that with the accomplishments
that TESDA-Caraga has achieved in 2016, there is a need to re-align its
previous settings to the mandate of the national government under the Duterte
administration.
Dir. Cueva underscored that the direction-setting
are those programs that needs to be prioritized this year. He said the
capability building programs and learning sessions must be regularly conducted
so as to update the officials and employees on the latest developments in as
far as policies, statutory laws, technical and administrative are concerned.
The TESDA chief of the region also pointed out that
partnerships with Philippine Army, Philippine National Policy, Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology, and the Provincial/Municipal Social Welfare and
Development Office must also be strengthened. He added these government
agencies are considered regular partners of TESDA for which proper coordination
with these agencies must be considered.
Part of the agency’s advocacy campaign is to
promote training regulations. This is to ensure that the general public will be
aware of the mechanics in each qualification.
Other programs that need to be prioritized are as
follows: 1. Intensification of Dual Training Program/System; 2. Submission of
success stories in write-up and Audio-Visual Production (AVP); 3.
Implementation of construction-related programs for farmers and fisherfolks; 4.
Entrepreneurship training for sari-sari store and carenderia owners; 5.
Visibility to Local Chief Executives in the region; 6. Strengthen
institution-based programs and partnership with State University and Colleges
(SUCs); 7. Conduct of Barangay Skills Needs Survey; 8. Establishment of Caraga
Region’s local version of TESDA Provident Fund (TPF) and Financial Wellness; 9.
Implementation of TTIs Income-Generating Project (IGP); 10. Mobile Training
Program (MTP); 11. Creation of NBC 461 Task Force; 12. Organization of Alumni
Association; 13. Application of registration of Additional TTI Programs; and
14. Refurbishment of TTIs.
With these developments, Dir. Cueva and all
officials and personnel of TESDA-Caraga are hoping that TESD services will be
improved in Caraga Region. (TESDA-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
Energy department imparts to consumers effective
energy-saving tips
BUTUAN CITY, Jan. 26 (PIA) - As part of its mandate
to inform and educate the public, the Department of Energy (DOE) released
another set of energy efficiency and conservation tips with distinct focus on
the consumer.
DOE
Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi strongly emphasized the importance of these measures,
especially with the impending Malampaya scheduled maintenance shutdown
by the end of the month.
“Demand-side management is one of the measures that
we are encouraging our consumers to practice. By doing this, our energy
consumption is made more efficient and economical, with the beneficial effect
ultimately reflected and felt through our electric bills,” Sec. Cusi explained.
He added that “when energy-efficiency becomes second-nature
to us, we are able to cushion whatever impact may be caused by spikes in the
cost of electricity. For example, despite the upcoming Malampaya maintenance
activities this end of the month, we can still be able to lower our electricity
bills with ease.”
These are consumer-friendly tips, very simple and
very doable, Sec. Cusi assured.
The appliance-focused and consumer-managed
energy-saving tips have been developed by the DOE, through its Energy
Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB).
The DOE-EUMB regularly shares energy-saving tips to
the public via the DOE’s social media accounts (Facebook @doe.gov.ph, Twitter
@doe_ph and Instagram @DOE_PH) and its energy efficiency website -
www.wattmatters.org.ph. These tips primarily aim to help Filipino
energy consumers manage their electricity consumption.
The Malampaya scheduled maintenance shutdown will
take place on January 28 February 16. It will affect the generation of
electricity of the natural gas power plants in Batangas, which serve both the
islands of Luzon and Visayas.
To ensure sufficient power supply, the DOE has
required the affected natural gas power plants to run on alternative or
replacement fuel, which is more expensive than natural gas.
According to Sec. Cusi, “natural gas as fuel only
costs around P4/kilowatt-hour. Whereas, replacement fuel, such as diesel, costs
around P6-P8/kWh."
"These energy-saving tips not only guarantee
reduction in power consumption to spare the public from unwarranted price
increases, but most importantly helps us to maintain and balance the power
supply in the grid, thus avoiding supply deficiency,” Sec.
Cusi concluded. (DOE/PIA-Caraga)
DOE rallies students to learn energy conservation
BUTUAN CITY, Jan. 26 (PIA) - As part of its mission
to empower energy consumers, the Department of Energy (DOE) headed by Secretary
Alfonso G. Cusi enjoins the academe to inculcate the value of energy saving to
their students.
“We are here to guide our younger generation who
will be the ones running not only the energy sector, but the nation as well,”
Cusi said. “Supplementing the learning process of the students by exposing them
to a real-world working environment helps arouse their interest and unleashes
their potentials to become future scientists, engineers or energy experts,”
Cusi explained.
In the second half of 2016 alone, the DOE’s
Consumer Welfare and Promotion Office (CWPO) facilitated the conduct of 11
half-day consumer workshops dubbed as EnerSmart Kids Program and EnerREADY
Project attended by various students in Metro Manila.
For the EnerSmart Kids Program, a total of 200
Grades 4, 5 & 6 from South CEMBO, Pitogo, San Jose, and Nemesio Yabut
Elementary Schools in Makati City attended lectures and performed Science
experiments at the DOE Central Office in Taguig City.
The sessions were capped by the kids’ “Pledge of
Commitment” to be “Energy Cost Busters” by practicing energy efficiency and
conservation measures in their own homes.
Among those who participated in the DOE program
were students from the College of Computer Engineering and Communication and
Engineering, STI Global City; College of Technology students and senior high
school students from the University of Makati and Electrical Engineering
students from the Technological University of the Philippines, Taguig Campus.
More than 200 students were given an overview of
the electricity supply chain, including fundamental electricity concepts and a
laboratory tour at the DOE-Lighting and Appliance Testing Laboratory.
Meanwhile, as part of the agency’s efforts to
mainstream Gender and Development (GAD) in the energy sector programs,
activities, and projects, the EnerREADY Project was pursued by the DOE-CWPO
on-site in the following schools in Taguig and Makati City: Bangkal High
School, Fort Bonifacio High School, Bagumbayan National High School and Gen.
Pio del Pilar National High School.
EnerREADY is a Career Talk that aims to promote
gender equality in the energy sector, encouraging young students to pursue
technical careers based on their interest, passion, and strength in technical
subjects and not on gender stereotyping as to the roles of women and men as
perceived or dictated by society.
More than 400 Grade 10 pupils benefited from this
activity through interactive and experiential learning with the female energy
experts who shared their actual experiences, including the challenges they
hurdled in order to achieve their career goals.
With the continuing Consumer Education Program of the
CWPO, public elementary, high school, and college institutions interested in
visiting the agency located at the Energy Center, Rizal Drive corner 34th
Street, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila, can get in touch with
Helen B. Arias, chief of the CWPO at telefax no. (02) 840-22-67 or
trunkline no. 479-2900 local 329; or email at
energycwpo@gmail.com. (DOE/PIA-Caraga)
Surigao Norte LGUs implement revised standards on
BPLS
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Jan. 26 (PIA) –
Some local government units (LGUs) in the province have begun to implement the
revised standards on Business Permit and Licensing System (BPLS) as required by
the Joint Memorandum Circular No. 1 series of 2016 issued by the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of the Interior and Local Government
(DILG) and the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT).
The said memorandum circular directed all city and
municipal LGUs to comply with the revised standards in the processing of
business permits to only three steps while significantly reducing the
processing time to a maximum of two days for new business permit application
and just one day for renewals.
It has to be noted that the previous standards on
processing time was set for five days for new business applications.
The said directive is done to comply with the
instruction of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to further reduce the business
permits processing time thereby improving service efficiency for the benefits
of the business sector.
The DTI technical personnel conducted monitoring on
the implementation of the recently revised BPLS standards for the month of
January as most LGUs in the city and in the municipalities are implementing
Business One Stop Shop (BOSS) for business permitting system as one of the
business permit licensing system streamlining mechanism required in the
DILG-DTI Joint Memorandum Circular.
The municipal local government units who already
conducted BOSS in their area form January 3 to January 20 are Claver, Bacuag,
Placer, Sison, Tagana-an, Tubod, Mainit, Alegria, Malimono, San Francisco,
Gigaquit, Dapa, Del Carmen, Sta. Monica, Burgos, Pilar, San Isidro, San Benito,
Gen. Luna and Socorro.
LGUs with many business permits to process that
were not able to start early due to the brown out after the typhoon will have
to extend their BOSS until January 25, 2017. LGUs with few business
establishments implemented their BOSS in just few days during the first three
weeks of January. (DTI-Surigao del Norte/PIA-Surigao del Norte)
