(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Wednesday, 11 December 2024) Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) affecting the western section of Mindanao and Palawan. Shear Line affecting the eastern sections of Central and Southern Luzon. Northeast Monsoon affecting Northern Luzon and the rest of Central Luzon. 𝗙𝗒π—₯π—˜π—–π—”π—¦π—§ π—ͺπ—˜π—”π—§π—›π—˜π—₯ π—–π—’π—‘π——π—œπ—§π—œπ—’π—‘: 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 Localized Thunderstorms. Possible flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms. 𝗙𝗒π—₯π—˜π—–π—”π—¦π—§ π—ͺπ—œπ—‘π—— 𝗔𝗑𝗗 π—–π—’π—”π—¦π—§π—”π—Ÿ π—ͺπ—”π—§π—˜π—₯ π—–π—’π—‘π——π—œπ—§π—œπ—’π—‘: Moderate to Strong winds coming from East to Northeast will prevail with slight to moderate seas / (0.6 to 2.5 meters).


Friday, February 2, 2018

RGADC 13 highlights grand launch of Search for Most Gender-Responsive LGU in 2018 Women’s Month

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

BUTUAN CITY, Feb. 2 (PIA) – In this year’s Women’s Month celebration, the Regional Gender and Development Committee (RGADC) Caraga highlights the grand launch of the Search for Most Gender-Responsive Local Government Unit (LGU) on March 8, 2018 in one of the local convention centers here.

“The Search will be launched on March 8, 2018 as one of the activities of the Women’s Month celebration to be participated in by the local chief executives and the members of the LGU’s GAD Focal Point System, which shall be highlighted with the signing of the Pledge of Confirmation by the 11 participating LGUs,” said RGADC chair and Commission on Human Rights (CHR) Caraga Regional Director Atty. Jerefe Tubigon-Bacang.

Bacang also revealed that the objectives of said event include the following:

To motivate LGUs in the region to fully implement their GAD Plans and Budgets (GPBs) in localizing the Magna Carta of Women (MCW);
To intensify local GAD awareness and advocacy in the region; and
To highlight the importance of gender-responsive planning in the development sphere in the region.
Through this search, the Regional Development Council through the RGADC Caraga will be able to:

Recommend policies or actions that may be adopted by the RDC to facilitate gender mainstreaming and promote women’s empowerment and gender equality in the region;
Provide venues for discussing regional gender issues and concerns, as well as for recognizing and sharing good practices and experiences on gender mainstreaming; and
Coordinate with and assist national oversight agencies, particularly the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), in localizing the implementation of national laws, policies and programs on GAD.
The search is open to all provinces, highly urbanized city, and component cities in the region.

Meanwhile, the awardees shall receive the seal of “CARAGA’s Most Gender-Responsive LGU,” a cash incentive and special citations to participating/winning LGUs. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)


All systems go for civil registration month in Tandag City

TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, Feb. 2  – The Office of the City Civil Registrar of this city has lined up activities for its residents to celebrate the Civil Registration Month 2018. 

Liza Auza, City Civil Registrar, said the activity will kick off with the conduct of free birth registration for children ages 0 – 5 years old on Feb. 5-9.

This will be followed by the free issuance of forms IA (birth record available); 2A (death records available) and 3A (marriage record available) on Feb. 15.

On Feb. 20, a “Kasalan ng Bayan” (mass wedding) is set to take place. In an earlier announcement, Auza stressed that the mass wedding would only be for couples who are “cohabitating” for at least five years.

"Hence, some requirements had to be complied with," she clarified.

The deadline for submission would be on February 16. Since the first term of Mayor Alexander Pimentel, this free sponsorship of annual mass civil wedding ceremony has been going on for over a decade already during the same month.

With the theme “#napapanahong CRVS,” the month-long event would be sealed with the “Distribution of Birth Certificates” for the so-called “Lumads” (Indigenous Peoples) of Hitaub, Barangay Awasian on February 28. (GTataro Jr., Radyo Pilipinas Tandag/PIA-Surigao del Sur)


Caraga identifies special areas for agricultural development

BUTUAN CITY, Feb. 2 – The Department of Agriculture (DA) gears up toward the realization of its promise to provide available and affordable food for the people through Special Area for Agricultural Development (SAAD).

SAAD is a locally-funded program of the government that aims to help alleviate poverty in the poorest provinces of the country through the provision of agricultural and related interventions to the marginalized in the farming and fisheries sector.

‘Saad’ in Cebuano means promise.

Since its inception in 2017, there were 20 provinces that were given assistance from the different regions in the country. Each year the DA-SAAD National Program Management Office will prioritize 10 provinces until 2022.

This 2018, DA–Caraga is now preparing for the implementation of the SAAD Program in 2019. One of the steps undertaken is the orientation and consultation with the local government units (LGUs) who will be the beneficiaries of the program.

In the region, the provinces of Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur are among the pilot areas for the program. Each province has 4 municipalities where the beneficiaries will be identified. For the province of Agusan del Sur the municipalities of Talacogon, Rosario, San Luis and Veruela are among those to be assisted. The municipalities of Bayabas, Carmen, Lingig and Bislig City of Surigao del Sur will also be reached out by the program.

Base on the 2015 report of the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), Caraga region has a 30.8 percent poverty incidence among families, in which the province of Agusan del Sur has 37 percent while Surigao del Sur has 32 percent.

According to PSA, poverty incidence is the proportion of families or individuals with per capita income less than the per capita poverty threshold to the total number of families or individuals. While poverty threshold is the minimum income required for a family or individual to meet the basic food and non-food requirements.

"The selection of the beneficiaries are in the areas where the poorest of the poor generally resides. The far-flung areas of these municipalities will be prioritized especially for those parts where the absence of government services exists. SAAD is a program of DA to cater the marginalized sector, that will provide interventions in areas not reached by the regular DA programs," said Regional Technical Director for Operations Alberto D. Ocampo, Jr.

The eligible beneficiaries of the program must be poor households or groups who earn below the poverty threshold per province, who would like to engage or already engaged in agriculture and fisheries. Preferably, must not be a recipient of similar interventions from DA in the last two years upon implementation.

"SAAD can cater individuals who are interested to venture into farming. Eventually, these individuals will be assisted by SAAD to organize themselves and formally register or be accredited by appropriate government authority, provided these group will undergo required training courses," explained Planning Officer III Roberto Hipolao, Jr. during the consultation and workshop meeting with the identified LGUs.

DA-Caraga is working with the provincial and municipal LGUs to help ensure the smooth implementation at the local level. Series of activities will be conducted for the multi-year planning for the SAAD Program implementation in the region. (RCAbao, DA-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)


PNP Caraga double barrel reloaded: 51 surrendered, 41 nabbed

By PSInsp Analee V. Enriquez

BUTUAN CITY, Feb. 2 – A total of 51 drug personalities surrendered to the authorities and 41 were arrested amid the intensified campaign against illegal drugs conducted by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Caraga Drug Enforcement Units from December 5, 2017 to February 1, 2018.

Police Regional Office (PRO) 13 Director Chief Supt. Noli A. Romana, said those 51 surrenderers, who came from different barangays infiltrated by drug activities, are willing to undergo treatment while the 41 arrested are facing charges for violation of Republic Act (RA) No. 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Dangerous Drug Act of 2002.

"The police drug operations successfully confiscated shabu worth of P328,960.00 during the implementation of Search Warrant and conduct of buy- bust operation regionwide," Romana added.

“We are determined to sustain these substantial gains in arresting drug pushers/users in order to stop the illegal drug activities,” said Romana.


“We urge the active collaboration of the community and other stakeholders to help us in our campaign by providing relevant information to the nearest police unit,” Romana concluded. (PNP-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)