Blue alert raised in Caraga due to 2 LPAs
By Doreen Marielle N. Rosales
BUTUAN CITY, Dec. 20 (PIA) --
Caraganons are to expect a rainy Christmas in the region, as reiterated during
the Pre-Disaster Risk Assessment (PDRA) conducted by the Regional Disaster Risk
Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) Caraga on Friday at the Office of Civil
Defense (OCD) Caraga Regional Office, this city.
Two low pressure areas (LPAs) are
currently monitored by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical
Services Administration (PAGASA), one of which has entered the Philippine Area
of Responsibility (PAR) and is situated 605 km east-south east of Hinatuan in
Surigao del Sur, as of 3:00 p.m. on Friday. Heavy rain is expected to fall in
the region on Saturday, December 21. However, the chances of the said LPA
turning into a tropical storm is slim, said PAGASA.
The second LPA, currently located
2,375 km east of Mindanao, is yet to enter PAR. According to Lance Galanida,
Chief Meteorologist of the PAGASA Butuan, the likelihood of the said weather
disturbance to actually pass through PAR is still in question hence the
on-going monitoring by their agency.
In response to the current weather
situation in the region, RDRRMC Caraga and OCD Caraga Regional Director Liza
Mazo declared a blue alert status, of which she instructed responsible line
agencies to cooperate in the close monitoring of the weather. PMaj. Marife
Farol of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Caraga assured the present
members that the police force in the region is as vigilant and ready to respond
in case of calamities.
The Department of Social Welfare
and Development (DSWD) Caraga has also prepared their office for relief
operations. Around 8,988 family food packs that contain rice, corned beef,
sardines, and coffee are now stored in their warehouses while 6,100 food packs
were distributed to local government units: 3,000 the Surigao provinces, 2,500
in Dinagat Islands, and 600 in Agusan del Sur.
Medicines worth P317,382.27 have
also been prepared by the Department of Health (DOH) Caraga and are ready for
distribution.
Dir. Mazo then advised the public
to cooperate and prepare, especially when preemptive evacuation is necessary.
(PIA-Caraga)
45 Agusanon students pass Japanese language,
culture program
By Doreen Marielle N. Rosales
BUTUAN CITY, Dec. 20 (PIA) -- A
total of 45 students graduated from the Japanese Language and Culture program
of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) held on
December 16 here. The said program is one of the seven courses under the
Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP), the enrollees of which are
supported by the provincial government of Agusan del Norte.
Overseas job opportunities are
expected to provide employment for the Agusanons hence the creation of the
Basic Japanese Language and Culture, it was learned.
“I hope that you will use what you
learned for the improvement of your individual lives,” said Gerry Joy S.
Laurito, provincial administrator of Agusan del Norte who represented Gov. Dale
Corvera during the graduation ceremony.
The TWSP is one of the initiatives
under the AGUSAN UP!, an eight-point development program of the provincial
government.
One of the major targets of the
province's development agenda is the provision of 30,000 quality jobs before
the year 2027. At present, over 3,000 are unemployed, 14,000 are underemployed,
and an estimation of 13,000 are expected to join the labor force in the next
eight years, said Laurito.
The provincial government allotted
P2-million to provide financial aid to the scholars of the TWSP this year.
Funding for the future batches of scholars will continue, Laurito further
stated.
In addition to the Japanese
Language and Culture program, six more courses are available under the TSWP,
namely Computer System Servicing NCII, Visual Graphic Design NCII, Shielded
Metal Arc Welding NCII, Events Management Services NCIII, and Driving NCII.
(with reports from J-anne Mag-aso and Angel Lyn Gaviola, LGU-Agusan del
Norte/PIA Caraga)
DA Caraga turns over P9M slaughterhouse
By Fretcher Magatao
BUTUAN CITY, Dec. 20 -- The
Department of Agriculture (DA) in the region turns over the P9 million “AA”
Slaughterhouse Building to the Municipality of Nasipit, Agusan del Norte last
December 17.
The building project that can
cater to up to 50 hogs per day is funded under the Department’s Bottom-Up
Budgeting.
“With the new facility, consumers
in Nasipit and the neighboring areas are assured of clean and safe meat,” said
Mayor Enrico Corvera.
Corvera added that the
municipality will make sure to maintain the facility and its equipment,
sufficient water supply, and proper waste disposal management.
Dr. James Cabrera from the
National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) said that an abattoir that is given an
"AA" grade by the NMIS is allowed to market its products anywhere in
the Philippines.
Cabrera explained that the
priority of NMIS is to strengthen meat inspection in all local government units
in the country.
“We will constantly monitor this
facility and make sure that the sanitary condition is well-maintained,” said
Dr. Cabrera.
There are three categories of
slaughterhouses under NMIS guidelines: Class Triple-A or top-grade abattoir
that can supply both domestic and international markets; Class Double-A or the
slaughterhouse that can supply all over the country, and Class A or the
slaughterhouse that can only supply the local city or municipality.
“The slaughterhouse can boost the
local meat industry as more investors will be enticed to use the facilities of
the municipal slaughterhouse,” said BUB Focal Person Edelmira Luminarias.
With its bigger space, the
slaughterhouse can now accept more animals for slaughtering and this would mean
an increase in the local government’s income from the slaughterhouse
operations. (DA Caraga/PIA Caraga)
Army, partners bring Christmas closer to
conflict-affected communities
By Lt. Krisjuper Andreo Punsalan
MARIHATAG, Surigao del Sur, Dec.
20 -- “Despite any conflict, there is still a room for peace and love
within everyone’s heart.”
This was the statement Lt. Colonel
Joey Baybayan, Commanding Officer of the 3rd Special Forces “Arrowhead”
Battalion, after the successful gift-giving activities in Kilometer 9,
Diatagon, Lianga and in Caras-an, Tago, Surigao del Sur and in Magsaysay, Prosperidad,
Agusan del Sur from December 14-17.
Sitio Supon of Barangay Magsaysay,
Sitio Simowao (Kilometer 9), Diatagon and Barangay Caras-an are homes for
Indigenous Peoples (IPs), mostly Manobo tribes. Caras-an is approximately 50
kilometers away from the municipality proper of Tago. All barangays are
traditional routes of Communist NPA Terrorists (CNTs).
“No road is long and no mountain
is high if we are sincere to bring sustainable and genuine peace in these
conflict-affected areas,” Lt. Col. Baybayan said.
The collaborative efforts of the
various agencies and private organizations exemplified the Whole-of-Nation
Approach to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
The 7th Special Forces “Spartan”
Company; 8th Special Forces “Dragoons” Company; 9th Special Forces “Hounds”
Company; 41st CMO Company; PNP personnel; local government units (LGUs) of
Prosperidad, Tago and Lianga; Philippine National Red Cross Agusan and Surigao
del Sur Chapters; ACDI Multi-Purpose Cooperative; Philippine Army Finance
Center Producers Integrated Cooperative; Armed Forces and Police Mutual Benefit
Association, Inc (AFPMBAI); Rotary Club San Francisco Chapter; DSWD Regional
Rehabilitation Center for Youth; Propelling our Inherited Nation Through our
Youth (POINTY) Agusan and Surigao del Sur Chapters; and the Bureau of Customs
produced and distributed the goods, mostly toys, school supplies and Noche
Buena packages to around 1,000 beneficiaries.
“There is no substitute for your
families, we call on the remaining NPAs to surrender and think about their
families. To live life in peace with your families despite the hardships in
life is better than living with corrupt NPA leaders and terrorists because they
never value family as they continually recruit minors and take them away from
their parents,” Lt. Col. Baybayan ended.
Meanwhile, NPA terrorists attacked
the government forces, civilians, including children, in an ambush last
December 13 in Borongan, Eastern Samar, leaving 3 killed and 14 seriously
injured. This caused the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to condemn the NPA
terrorists and outraged the LGU of Borongan. NPA terrorists involved are
allegedly minors and were recruited from various schools through alleged
NPA-linked militant front groups and party lists. (3SFBn/PIA-Surigao del Sur)
Caraga region’s poverty incidence declines in
2018
By Paul Edward B. Castillo
BUTUAN CITY, Dec. 20 -- The full
year 2018 poverty incidence among population for Caraga Region displays an
improvement of 9.0 percentage points from the 2015 figure of 39.5 percent.
The 30.5 poverty incidence among
population for the full year of 2018 released by the Philippine Statistics
Authority (PSA), roughly translates to 822,800 Caraganons living below the
poverty threshold of the region estimated at P11,482, on average, for a family
of five per month in 2018. This is 192,200 less poor Caraganons than what was
recorded in 2015.
In addition, Caraga region also
experienced improvement in terms of subsistence incidence among population or
proportion of Caraganons, whose income is not enough to meet even the basic
food needs, which registered at 10.2 percent in 2018.
This is an improvement of 7.1
percentage points from 17.3 percent in 2015. The region’s monthly food
threshold for a family of five was estimated, on average, at P7,349.
However, despite the decline in
figures, Caraga Region’s poverty incidence among population of 30.5 percent is
still relatively high compared to the country’s poverty estimates of 16.6
percent in 2018. Among other regions, Caraga ranks as the 4th poorest region
following Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) with 61.3
percent; Zamboanga Peninsula with 32.7 percent; and Eastern Visayas with 30.9
percent.
Among the regions in Mindanao,
Caraga ranks third poorest following BARMM and Zamboanga Peninsula while
SOCCSKSARGEN (South Cotabato, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Sarangani and General
Santos) ranks fourth poorest with 28.2 percent, followed by Northern Mindanao
Region with 23.0 percent and Davao Region with 18.9 percent.
On a positive note, the 2018
poverty and subsistence incidence among population of 30.5 percent and 10.2
percent, respectively, exceeded the targets set in the Updated
Caraga Results Matrices, the accompanying document of the Midterm Updated
Caraga Regional Development Plan 2020-2022, which targeted 34 percent for
poverty incidence and 13.15 percent for subsistence incidence in 2018. Such
positive results indicate that the region is on track in achieving the poverty
targets set in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) of reducing by half the
proportion of population living in poverty and eradicating extreme poverty for
all by 2030. (NEDA Caraga/PIA-Caraga)
Trabaho gilantaw alang sa migradwar nga 45 scholars pagkat-on sa
Nihongo
By J-anne Mag-aso/Angel Lyn
Gaviola
DAKBAYAN SA BUTUAN, Disyembre 20
-- Migradwar niadtong Disyembre 16 ang 45 ka suportado sa probinsya sa Agusan
del Norte nga scholars sa Technical Education and Skills Development Authority
(TESDA) sa kurso nga Basic Japanese Language and Culture, usa sa pito ka mga
kurso ubos sa Training for Work Scholarship Program (TWSP) niini.
Ang TWSP usa sa mga mahimong
dakung kabahin unya sa kampanya sa kalambuan ubos sa AGUSAN UP!, ang walo ka
punto nga agenda sa Team Agusan del Norte ubos sa administrasyon ni Gob. Dale
B. Corvera.
Usa sa mga gipunting nga resulta
sa mga kalambuan nga ipahiluna ubos sa AGUSAN UP! mao ang pagmugna og 30,000 ka
de-kalidad nga trabaho pag-abot sa 2027. Kapin sa 3,000 sa gipunting nga
makatrabaho mao kadtong mga unemployed karon, ang dul-an sa 14,000 mga
underemployed ug ang laing kapin sa 13,000, mga bag-ong mosulod sa labor force
sa mosunod nga walo ka tuig.
Ang gilantaw nga makamugna unya sa
trabaho mao ang mga ekonomikanhong kalihukan ubos sa magkalambigit nga mga
proyekto Plant! Plant! Plant! diiin gipunting nga 125,000 ektaryas ang matamnan
ug sa Process! Process! Process diin labing ubos 20 ka mga manufacturing
projects nga mo-proseso sa mga abot sa uma ang ipahuluna.
Apil usab sa mga gilantaw nga
momugna ug mga kapangitaan, ilabina karon nga yugto diin nagsugod pa lang ang
AGUSAN UP!, mao ang mga trabaho sa gawas sa nasud, usa sa gipunting nga adtoan
sa mga gradwado sa bag-ohay pa lang gihimo nga Basic Japanese Language and
Culture.
“Hinaut unta nga gamiton ninyo ang
inyong naantiguhan aron molambo ang tagsa-tagsa ka estado sa inyong kinabuhi”,
sumala pa Gerry Joey S. Laurito, provincial administrator sa Agusan del Norte
nga nag-represent kang Gob. Corvera sa graduation ceremony.
Ang probinsya naggahin og P2
milyones alang sa mga scholars sa probinsya sa TWSP ning tuiga. Padayon kining
pondohan ubos sa administrasyon ni Gob. Corvera, sumala pa kang Laurito. Naay
pito ka kurso ang TSWP. Ang uban mao ang Computer system Servicing NCII, Visual
Graphic Design NCIII, Shielded Metal Arc Welding NCII, Events Management
Services NCIII, Driving NCII. (Agusan Up, Agusan del Norte/PIA Caraga)
