(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Wednesday, 27 March 2024) Easterlies affecting the eastern section of the country. 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 Easterlies / Localized Thunderstorms. Possible flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms.


Wednesday, July 4, 2018


AgSur, DOLE Caraga sign MOU for JobStart PH program

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

BUTUAN CITY, July 4 - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Caraga represented by assistant regional director Naomi Lyn Abellana and Agusan del Sur Public Employment Service Office (PESO) thru manager Divina Lagumbay, together with Agusan del Sur Governor Adolph Edward Plaza, signed the Memorandum of Undertaking (MoU) for the first implementation of JobStart Philippines Program in the region held recently at the Governor’s Office, this province.

PESO Agusan del Sur Manager Divina Lagumbay said a total of 100 slots are open for the program as per MOU with the province.

Target recipients are out-of-school youth or undergraduate or fresh graduates aged 18 to 24. Qualified recipients are those currently not working or enrolled in training, with less than one year or no work experience and at least high school graduate.

“The concerned job seeker will be given P200 per day as stipend for his or her transportation and food allowance," said Henry Abawag, Jobstart Project Coordinator during his courtesy call at the Agusan del Sur Governor’s Office.

"Those who will be selected will undergo 10 days of life skills training, up to three months of JobStart-funded technical training and another three months of work experience with a 'matched' employer/ establishment. The interns in return will be receiving at least 75 percent of the minimum wage in the relevant city/ municipality,” Abawag added.

Agusan del Sur was chosen as a pilot area in Caraga region for the DOLE's Jobstart Program, in coordination with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Government of Canada.

Jobstart Philippines is a DOLE implemented project through its local PESO office that aims to shorten the youth’s school to work transition by enhancing the knowledge and skills they acquired in formal education or technical training, in order for them to become more responsive to the demands of the labor market. (DOLE-Agusan del Sur/PIA-Agusan del Sur)

3 NPA members surrender in Tandag City

By Nida Grace P. Barcena

TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, July 4 (PIA) - Three members of the New People’s Army (NPA) yielded to government forces over the past weeks here, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) recently disclosed.

In the recent press briefing at the Tandag City Police Station, the AFP identified the surrenderees as Hermano Quezada alias “Rado”, a company leader of SDG Platoon, Guerilla Front 30 (GF30); Donita Martinez, alias “Clara”, Medical Team Leader of SDG Platoon, GF30; and Romanito Molino alias "Tata", team leader of Team Baking Squad Uno, SGD Platoon, GF30, all of North Eastern Mindanao Regional Committee (NEMRC).

Report said the three former NPA members left the armed struggle and surrendered to the army due to the hardships experienced in the organization, false hope in the armed revolution, and unequal treatment of senior and superior cadres. 

The former rebels revealed that the mass base supporters of the Communist-NPA Terrorists (CNTs) are already dwindling due to the declaration of President Rodrigo Duterte tagging the NPA a terrorist organization, to include the relentless campaign of the armed forces in the area. 

“Numerous members of GF30, NEMRC intend to surrender because of the hardship and low state of morale in our ranks,” Ka Rado said. “Martial Law is indeed effective,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tandag City Mayor Alexander Pimentel gave cash incentive to the three surrenderees during the press conference. Ka Rado received P20,000 while the other two received P10,000 each. (PIA-Surigao del Sur)

Tubay farmers enrol in farm biz school

By Nora C. Lanuza Molde

TUBAY, Agusan del Norte, July 4  - The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) through its Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) and Negosyo Center - Tubay recently signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the conduct of a farm business school (FBS).

The FBS which is a 25-session on-site capability building program is organized by the local Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

Other MOA signatories and cooperators include the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), the local government unit (LGU) of Tubay and the recipient of the assistance – the Doña Rosario Certificate of Land Ownership Award (CLOA) Holders Vegetable Producers Association (DRCHVP) of this municipality.

Chief Agrarian Reform Program Officer (CARPO) Josephine L. Yordan, in giving the rationale for the activity, said the FBS is the school that goes to the farm to equip farmers to become entrepreneurs and develop and strengthen their skills to produce more profitably for the market.

The FBS MOA was inked back to back with the DAR’s memorandum of understanding and project launching for its Partnership Against Hunger and Poverty (PAHP) with ATI, LGU Tubay and the DA and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

This will pave the way for the local procurement of DSWD for their feeding program from the produce of DRCHVPA. The latter is expected to be sustained by the capacitated farmers through the FBS.

DRCHVPA chairperson Hector dela Cruz accepted the projects in behalf of his group.

“It is our honor to receive the project and we will do our best to make it a success, and so I am encouraging the members to cooperate and support,” he said. 

Tubay Mayor Fidel E. Garcia Jr. reminded the partners on the different requirements for project sustainability and pointing out areas that may affect the projects adversely. He did a recollection of past so-called failures in the hope that lessons learned from those experiences will be heeded.

Garcia is hoping for the best to happen and challenges the farmers to be successful.

DAR – Agusan del Norte PARO Andre B. Atega also encouraged the farmers and the community to buy local and to market products themselves to benefit more from the higher income. 

ATI representative Engr. Joel M. Laure asked the farmers to change their mindset from merely making farming as a livelihood activity into an enterprise. He reminded them to value their labor and investment.

Laure also encouraged the farmers to read business advisories and to avail of the ATI office and extension services.

DTI Agusan del Norte OIC Provincial Director Brenda B. Corvera asked the farmers to heed the points raised by Mayor Garcia, to think about risks and possibilities to be aware of the yardstick to be considered to ensure success.

Corvera told the farmers that DTI is excited to see the group increase the volume of their produce so they can start to consider processing and value-adding to get more earnings and encouraged the farmers to visit Negosyo Center- Tubay for further entrepreneurial inputs and assistance. (DTI-Agusan del Norte/PIA-Agusan del Norte)

Voters’ registration kick off day turns out well

By Greg Tataro, Jr.

TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, July 4 (PIA) – The resumption of the voters’ continuing registration in Surigao del Sur was said to be a success despite the absence of mass produced modified registration forms, according to the Commission on Election (COMELEC) here.

Atty. Ernie Palanan, provincial election supervisor (PES), admitted that such a situation was no longer new to state workers like them, saying that they have to make do of what they have in order to keep the ball rolling.

Based on Resolution No. 10392 promulgated by COMELEC on June 19, 2018, “The period for filing of application for registration as voters shall be from July 2, 2018 to September 29, 2018.”

“The info dissemination had worked well in our favor with the help of media,” the provincial poll chief gladly said in an interview.

Palanan bared that at least clients came to the nearest COMELEC offices to seize the chance to register.

In a separate interview, Florephi Botona, Tandag City acting election officer, backed up the account of Atty. Palanan.   

“Some 90 registrants came to our office,” she stressed. (Radyo Pilipinas-Tandag/PIA-Surigao del Sur)

Tagalog News: Kampanya laban fake news mas pinaigting pa sa tulong ng mga barangay information officers

Ni Jennifer P. Gaitano

LUNGSOD NG BUTUAN, Hulyo 4 (PIA) - Mas pinaigting pa ng gobyerno ang kampanya laban fake news sa tulong ng Barangay Information Officers Network (BION) sa lungsod.

Sa ginanap na capacity training ng lokal na pamahalaan ng Butuan, kasama ang Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga, nagkaisa ang unang batch na may 70 BIOs mula sa ibat-ibang barangay ng nasabing lungsod at aktibong nakibahagi sa mga resource speakers. 

Sa dalawang araw na capacity training, ibinahagi ng PIA Caraga ang mga mahahalagang ginagampanang tungkulin ng mga BIOs at sila ay tinuruan sa aktuwal na pagsusulat ng balita. Ibinahagi rin sa kanila ang responsableng pagamit ng social media, mobile photography, at pagawa ng photo caption o cutline.

Binigyang-diin din ang “Dismiss Disinformation” – ang kampanya ng gobyerno laban fake news.

Ayon kay Eldie David, ang public information officer ng Butuan City, layunin ng lokal na pamahalaan na paghusayin ang kakayahan ng mga BIOs sa pagawa ng mga makabuluhang balita at tumulong sa pagsugpo ng paglaganap ng fake news. 

Matatandaang ito rin ang hangarin ni Secretary Martin Andanar ng Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) sa kanyang binuong Provincial Communication Officers (PCO) Network na may layuning patatagin ang network ng mga information officers mula provincial hanggang barangay levels.  Malaki umano ang ginagampanang tungkulin ng mga IOs sa paghahatid ng tama at akmang impormasyon na dapat malaman ng mga tao sa komunidad. 

Dagdag pa ni David, magpapatuloy ang pakikipagtulungan nila sa PIA Caraga upang marami pang BIOs ang matuto at maging magaling sa paghahatid ng napapanahon at tamang impormasyon.

Ipinahayag naman ni Ronald Dizon, isang kagawad sa Barangay Obrero at isa sa mga BIOs, na malaking tulong sa kanila ang ginawang capacity training upang sila ay maging sanay sa pakikihalobilo at pakikipagusap sa kanilang mga constituents at maging epektibo sa kanilang tungkulin. (PIA-Caraga)