Gov’t agencies reach out to Caraga IPs, respond to
issues, concerns
By Jennifer P. Gaitano
BUTUAN CITY, Mar. 26 (PIA) - Various government
agencies have responded to the issues and concerns of the Indigenous Peoples
(IPs) coming from the different provinces of Caraga region, during the two-day
IP Leaders Summit held on March 25-26, 2018 at Oazis Hotel, this city.
More than 400 IPs converged for the Caraga-wide IP
Leaders Summit dubbed “Lumadnong Panaglambigitay Alang sa Kalinaw og Kalambuan
sa Caraga.”
The Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) chaired
by Agusan del Norte Governor Ma. Angelica Rosedell Matba-Amante spearheaded the
said activity, in collaboration with the different government agencies and
local government units in the region.
Gov. Matba emphasized the importance of the IPs in
getting them involved in the government's programs for peace and development.
She also acknowledged their presence by tribe and assured the IPs that they
will benefit from the two-day IP Leaders summit, where heads of government
agencies and local officials would see to it that issues and concerns would be
given appropriate action.
Rico Maca, a Manobo and Indigenous Peoples
Mandatory Representative (IPMR) in San Miguel, Surigao del Sur expressed that
the summit is an avenue where the government agencies could present and discuss
resolutions to the pressing issues and concerns of the IPs in their respective
communities. He also commended the efforts of the government for continuously
reaching out to their sector and for providing their needs.
National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP)
Caraga regional director Atty. Jose Dumagan Jr. recalled that it was thru the
Philippine Army's initiative/proposal to the RPOC to conduct an IP Leaders
Summit in the region to tackle various issues and concerns of the IPs and allow
the concerned government agencies to respond accordingly. He also stressed that
Gov. Matba, together with the member agencies then immediately acted upon the
proposal and planned for the said activity.
Atty. Dumagan, recalled that prior to this two-day
IP Leaders Summit, there were already series of consultations with the IPs from
the different provinces thru the coordination and efforts of various local
government units and the Philippine Army that served as avenues for concerned
parties to bring up issues and concerns that need to be addressed by the
government.
It was learned that the issues and concerns of the
IPs are grouped into ten thematic areas, to wit: 1) IPs Education; 2) Local
Governance Concerns; 3) Welfare, Skills, and Livelihood; 4) Economic Concerns;
5) Issues on Land and Ancestral Domain; 6) Peace and Security; 7) IP
Organization (IPO) Registration; 8) Health Services; 9) Infrastructure; and 10)
Autonomy.
As mentioned during the summit on the protection of
IPs, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National Police, and NCIP
have various options and strategies in ensuring their protection. Accordingly,
the AFP has deployed their men in IP areas in Caraga establishing Patrol Bases
in the vicinity of Ancestral Domains and employing regular soldiers and CAA
personnel who are members of the IP tribes in the area.
“The protection of the IP leaders and their members
are done through the security operations being undertaken by the 401st and
402nd Brigades, Philippine Army. The PNP has also been coordinating with the
other law enforcement agencies to share their counterparts in addressing this
concern,” relayed Dumagan.
Also cited is the concern on health services. One
of which is the request for IP hospitals near their respective communities.
With this, the DOH was asked to encourage existing hospitals to expand their
services to IPs either through satellite centers or the allocation of hospital
wings that will prioritize IP patients. As a long-term plan, the DOH has to
refer this matter to its Regulatory and Licensing, Health Facility Enhancement
Program (regional office) and to its Health Facility Development Bureau for
further assessment. For short-term plan, through the JMC 2013-01 and the
Regional Inter-Agency Committee for IP Health, the DOH will put up IP Help Desk
in Health Facilities that are strategically located in IP areas and to be
manned by an IP personnel.
As to the request of the IPs in Caraga region on
the increase of quota of IP soldiers and Civilian Armed Forces Geographical
Units (CAFGU), the AFP responded that in 2017, a special program led to the
recruitment of a total of 300 members of the IP communities within the area of
the 4th Infantry Division. Also, a number of IP members from the Banwaon and
Higa-onon tribes are now enlisted in the Army, specifically with the 26IB.
The issues and concerns have been enumerated and
each was provided actions from the concerned agencies and will be monitored by
the RPOC Caraga if all recommendations are implemented.
Meanwhile, the Technical Education and Skills
Development Authority (TESDA) Caraga headed by regional director Florencio
Sunico, together with Gov. Matba, Agusan del Sur acting Governor Samuel Tortor,
401st Brigade commander Col. Andres Centino, 402nd Brigade commander Col.
Franco Nemesio Gacal, and some heads of government agencies led the ceremonial
awarding of TESDA scholarships to the IPs during the two-day IP Leaders Summit.
(JPG/PIA-Caraga)
213 Caraga students qualify as DOST scholars
BUTUAN CITY, Mar. 26 - The Department of Science
and Technology (DOST) Caraga announced over the weekend a total of 213 passers
from Caraga region composed of 168 scholars for its Republic Act (RA) 7687
Scholarship program and 45 in the Merit Scholarship.
DOST-Science Education Institute (SEI) also
announced an increase in the monthly stipend of all scholars. Scholars will
receive P7,000 every month starting School Year 2018-2019.
Thousands of aspiring scientists and engineers will
enter college with the DOST-SEI scholarship stamp.
The country’s premier science scholarship program,
back after a two-year hiatus due to the implementation of the K-12 Curriculum,
announced 8,994 new qualifiers for its RA 7687 and Merit Scholarship programs.
Out of the total number of passers, 5,172 qualified
as scholars under the RA 7687 Scholarship Program, scholarships for gifted
students who belong to economically disadvantaged families; while 3,822 passed
under the DOST-SEI Merit Scholarship Program.
It is a record-breaking year for DOST-SEI as the
number of qualified students reached the highest mark since the scholarship
program started in 1958, surpassing 2015’s 5,303 qualifiers by 69.60 percent.
The 2018 DOST-SEI Scholarships Examination, which was held on October 15, 2017
in 216 test centers nationwide, recorded the highest number of examinees with
46,434 students.
Municipalities and congressional districts covered
by the DOST-SEI Scholarship Program also increased from 1,568 in 2015 to 1,609
this year representing 97 percent of the country's total number of
municipalities and congressional districts.
The scholars are also entitled to tuition fee
subsidy; book allowance; MS/PE clothing allowance; one economy-class round-trip
fare per year for those studying outside of their home province; and group
accident insurance. (DOST/PIA-Caraga)
PNP tightens security measures in Caraga for Holy
Week
BUTUAN CITY, Mar. 26 (PIA) - As part of the
preparation for the Holy Week, Police Regional Office 13 (PRO13) regional
director CSupt. Noli Romana has already placed all Philippine National Police
(PNP) units in the region on full alert status to maintain public safety
services and provide maximum security coverage during the observance of
"Panaad 2018".
Chief Supt. Romana reminded all unit commanders to
secure all vital installations, economic key points as well as places of
convergence and to ensure a high state of operational readiness to deter
criminal activities and thwart any hostile action that may be launched by
terrorist groups.
PNP personnel will be deployed in all areas of
convergence to provide police presence and other police safety services. They
will conduct random checkpoints in various areas of Caraga to stop any possible
threats and unpleasant doings of various groups who might be taking advantage
of the situation to carry out their unlawful activities.
Also, PRO13 will intensify intelligence monitoring
and still focus on law enforcement operations to ensure safe observance of the
Holy Week.
“We are undertaking all the necessary steps for a
solemn observance of the Lenten Season and a stress-free holiday break,” Romana
said.
“Even with the round-the-clock security
preparations of PNP Caraga, it is important for the residents and travelers to
observe extra-precautionary measures for their personal security and safety
especially if they opted to go for an out-of-town activity during the blessed
week,” he added. (PRO13/PIA-Caraga)
Surigao City Negosyo Center among PH’s top 50
performing NCs
SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Mar. 26 - Of the
nine Negosyo Centers in Surigao del Norte, the Negosyo Center (NC) in Surigao
City was among the country’s top 50 performing facilities, particularly in the
number of clients served and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs)
assisted.
Report as of December 31, 2017 of the Negosyo
Center Monitoring System (NCMS) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)
showed that Negosyo Center Surigao City ranked 48th, in terms of number of
clients assisted with around 2,705 clients served.
The Negosyo Center Surigao City caters to all
business-related concerns of existing and potential entrepreneurs.
Most of the assistance given to MSMEs was mainly
attributed to the conduct of seminars and trainings, as well as business name
and BMBE registration.
This year, DTI Surigao del Norte aims to open two
more Negosyo Centers in the province.
One will be established in Siargao Island and the
other one will be in the mainland of the province. (DTI-Surigao del
Norte/PIA-Surigao del Norte)
