AMIC to recognize outstanding achievements in
communication
By Venus L. Garcia
BUTUAN CITY, Aug. 15 (PIA) – The Asian Media
Information and Communication Centre (AMIC) will highlight the 2017 AMIC Asia
Communication Award during its 25th Annual Conference by recognizing the
outstanding achievements in various fields of communication – research,
education, institution building, and journalism.
Started in 2006, 15 communication exemplars in Asia
have been recognized as AMIC communication laureates.
“This year, some experts in communication and
journalism in Asia-Pacific have confirmed their participation in AMIC 25th
Annual Conference which is set on September 27-29, 2017 at Miriam College,
Quezon City,” said Ramon Tuazon, secretary general of AMIC.
Among the communication icons who will be coming
for the conference are Dr. John Lent, Wimal Dissayanake, Dr. Shelton Gunaratne,
Dr. Ronny Adhikarya, Prof. Ang Peng Hwa, Dr. Cherian George, Mr. ArunMahizhnan,
and Dr. Peixin Cao. They will be joined by Filipino communication scholars
including AMIC chairperson Crispin Maslog and Dr. Florangel Rosario-Braid.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) assistant director general for communication Frank La Rue
will deliver the keynote address.
Some 300 participants that include academics,
professionals, information officers, and policymakers from the region and other
parts of the world are expected to attend.
The topics for discussion during the conference are
Asian philosophies, religions, and communication; Asian communication theories
and paradigms; freedom of expression in a post-truth era; communication and
culture; communication education and training; media and information literacy;
communication media; communication strategies and approaches; inclusive
knowledge societies; global communication; and Asian business communication.
According to Tuazon, an innovation in this year’s
forum id the Business Matching Session wherein participating institutions are
given a platform to discuss partnership ideas and possibly enter into formal
agreements. “The Business Session will also encourage participants and sponsors
to launch new products (e.g. publications) and services during the three-day
conference,” he said.
With the theme, Rethinking Communication in a
Resurgent Asia, the conference will encourage paper presenters to question
traditional standards and mindsets and come up with pioneering, innovative,
creative, and disturbing topics including the so-called "new normal."
AMIC’s Annual Conference is the premier event on
Asia communication media, attracting eminent international speakers and
participants. To register online, interested individuals may visit AMIC’s
conference website at www.amicmanila2017.net. (AMIC/VLG/PIA-Caraga)
LGU Dinagat organizes basketball tourney
By Susil D. Ragas
SAN JOSE, Dinagat Islands, Aug. 15 (PIA) - The
Provincial Sports Committee in the province of Dinagat Islands thru the
provincial vice governor’s office is set to hold a Governor’s Cup Inter-Local
Government Units Basketball Tournament this coming September 20-30, 2017.
During the preparatory meeting conducted recently,
it was agreed by the 23 committee members that the tourney will be divided into
two categories: Category A (Secondary Level) and Category B (Inter-Local
Government Units - Unity Cup).
It has also been agreed that players for the
Category A must have the following qualifications: a) must be a resident of the
municipality; b) student outside Dinagat Islands is allowed to play in their
respective municipality provided that they have previous school records in the
said municipality; c) 18 years old and below on September 30, 2017.
For Category B, players must also have the
following qualifications: a) must be elected municipal officials including ABC
President and permanent employees in the municipality; b) must secure medical
certificate and must be physically fit to play; c) must submit player’s waiver.
Prizes await for the winners of the said tournament
include resource and learning center worth P1.5 million, P100,000, P75,000,
50,000, P30,000, P24,000, P20,000 cash prize, and P10,000 for the consolation
prize. (PIO-Dinagat Islands/PIA-Dinagat Islands)
DAR AgNor credit support to ARBs reaches P25M
By Gil E. Miranda
BUTUAN CITY, Aug. 15 - Department of Agrarian
Reform’s (DAR's) total fund released under the Agrarian Production Credit
Program (APCP) to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) in the province of
Agusan del Norte has now reached to P25 Million as disclosed during the
mid-year assessment conducted by the DAR Agusan del Norte provincial office.
More than 2,000 ARBs from different agrarian reform
communities (ARCs) in the province have benefitted the DAR’s flagship rural
poverty program called APCP which is expected to increase their productivity
and household income.
In the 1st quarter in 2017, nearly P11 Million
credit line has been approved by LBP and P8 million total released to four
ARBOs in the second quarter, which benefitted to 226 borrowers.
The six ARBOs included Baliguian Organic Farmers
Irrigators Association (BOFIA); Maong Agrarian Farmers Cooperative (MAFCO); New
Generation Organic Farmers Cooperative (NGOFC) and Rosario Agrarian Reform
Cooperative (RARC).
APCP Point Person Luningning B. Ycoy said that the
agency provides credit assistance to some ARB Organizations who qualified under
the lending program of Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP).
“Aside from lending facility, the APCP provides
package of assistance to the borrowers, which include orientation and technical
assistance, TIN Application facilitation, periodic review and assessment and
mandatory insurance subsidy to all APCP borrowers,” Ycoy added.
The APCP is a joint credit and capacity development
initiative among the DAR, Department of Agriculture and LBP. (DAR-Agusan del
Norte/PIA-Agusan del Norte)
News Feature: ESI does it!
BUTUAN CITY, Aug. 15 - “Is your life worth
fighting for?”
Have you ever asked yourself this line? If you believe in your dreams and visions,
and if you know in your heart that success is just around the corner, then
truly, life is worth fighting for.
There is no easy way to success. You have to work
hard for it; you have to commit and direct all your efforts towards making
things happen. This is how couple
Ruelito and Erlinda Mercurio of Nasipit, Agusan del Norte traversed through
life. The road to success did not come easy for them. They went through huge
and seemingly insurmountable struggles to sustain their family of four.
“I am amazed at how far we have come and I am very
proud of our humble beginnings,” Erlinda shares. It was in 2007 when she and
Ruelito worked as ticket auditors for a bus company in Manila. Their income had
been enough during those days, but the company was shut down. All employees,
including the couple, were forced to find other jobs.
They made countless attempts at finding other
sources of income until they decided on putting up a business using their
family savings. They tried running an internet cafΓ©, and an electronic shop
after that. Unfortunately, both businesses did not prosper, leaving them with
no other choice but to move back to Erlinda’s hometown to start anew and to
look for brighter opportunities.
Upon reaching Nasipit, Erlinda’s sister offered
them a small house in which they could stay in Barangay Ata-atahon in Nasipit.
Their new home was very quiet compared to the hustle and bustle of Manila.
It was through that silence that a very loud noise
kept playing in Ruelito’s head: “You are the head of the family! You have
mouths to feed! Your two sons must have an education!” But what could he do in
Ata-atahon, a very small and quiet place with very few people? This was the question
that kept hounding him.
Their days passed in the home with a silence that
was deafening. The Mercurio couple still had to figure out what to do next, but
try as they might, they couldn’t come up with solutions to alleviate their
situation.
Not until Erlinda saw the pair of slippers in the
corner. The slippers seemed to stare back at her, challenging her. She took
both in her hands and asked her husband, “Would you, by any chance, know how to
make slippers?” Excitedly, Ruelito
replied, “I was a worker in a slipper factory.” He also shared that he worked
in the cutting department, and so he knew the ins and outs of production.
With newfound hope, the couple borrowed seed money
from Erlinda’s sister. They were able to buy all the materials except for insoles,
because these were expensive. In their
stead, Ruelito saw their floor mat and utilized it as the insole for his very
first pair of slippers. The mat functioned astonishingly as insole.
As soon as the first batch of slippers was done,
each and every one sold out within their neighborhood in less than 24
hours. Thrilled with the outcome, they
continued to make slippers using floor mats. Once the mats ran out, they went
to look for alternative materials in the garbage, which they then cleaned and
disinfected.
Slowly, the couple was able to come up with just
enough capital for them to buy the right insole material. They obtained the
necessary licenses and registrations, and to their delight, Erenz Slippers
Industry, or ESI, came into existence in 2011.
Their children were able to go back to school and
whatever debts and loans they had incurred were gradually paid off. The
business also enabled them to build a small house with a workshop for their
slipper production. “We were able to get back on our feet, thanks to our
slipper business,” Erlinda says wistfully.
To sustain and expand their business, the couple
approached several government agencies. They encountered their first major
breakthrough when they learned of the establishment of the Negosyo Center (NC)
in Nasipit.
The NC-Nasipit provided them with a series of
interventions, among them labeling assistance, design ideas, and a skills
training, complete with starter kits, on slipper-making for their neighbors.
Said interventions were successfully undertaken in order to expand ESI’s
manpower and to increase their productivity.
The NC facilitated their participation in several
trade fairs and exhibits. For the very first time, ESI slippers were sold in a
big mall when they joined the NKatbp Trade Fair and the CARAT Expo in Robinsons
Place-Butuan. Both events did not only generate a sizeable amount of sales;
more importantly, the experience provided them with valuable knowledge on how
to improve their products and sharpened their marketing and negotiation skills.
“We are very grateful to NC-Nasipit for the solid and steady assistance they
give us," the Mercurio couple expressed.
ESI now has regular workers to sustain their
production. To date, they are able to produce at least a hundred pairs of
slippers in a week, all of which are displayed in local market outlets in
Nasipit.
NC-Nasipit is currently working on bringing ESI
products to major market channels in the Butuan and Cabadbaran Cities.
The couple shares that a breakdown or a failure is
not a termination point; instead, it is an educational experience. “Tiyaga lang
talaga. Kapit lang at huwag mawalan ng pag-asa,” the Mercurios knowingly add.
