Typhoon Auring-affected residents in Butuan City, AgNor continue to receive aid
BUTUAN CITY, Jun. 4 -- Senator Christopher “Bong” Go continued to help communities that were affected by Typhoon Auring that hit the country in February as he sent relief to hundreds of typhoon victims in Butuan City and the province of Agusan del Norte.
Go’s
personnel handed out meals, food packs, masks, face shields, and vitamins to
each beneficiary. There were selected recipients who received new pairs of
shoes and bicycles that will serve as an alternative for commuters amid limited
transportation options. Others received computer tablets that will help their
children engage better during classes under the blended learning system.
To ensure
the well-being of the 718 beneficiaries while adhering to the coronavirus
disease 2019 (COVID-19) safety and health protocols, his team conducted two
simultaneous distribution activities in different venues. Around 502 recipients
were in attendance at the Los Angeles Covered Court, while there were around
216 beneficiaries at Agusan PequeΓ±o Covered Court. “Pakiusap lang, magtulungan
lang tayo. Sino ba naman ang magtutulungan, kung ‘di tayo lang ding kapwa natin
Pilipino. Mayroon pang tinamaan ng baha dahil sa bagyo noong nakaraan buwan na
tinamaan ng bagyo. Magtulungan lang tayo at malalampasan din natin itong
kinakaharap na krisis ngayon basta magtulungan lang tayo,” Go expressed in his
video message.
Several
government agencies were also present as they gave additional help to the
beneficiaries. The Department of Social Welfare and Development gave financial
assistance through their Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program.
The Department of Trade and Industry will do an assessment where qualified
recipients can be part of their livelihood program. Furthermore, the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority will evaluate beneficiaries for
their scholarship program.
The Senator,
then, encouraged the beneficiaries with medical conditions to seek medical
assistance at the Malasakit Center located inside the Butuan Medical Center in
Butuan City.
Go primarily
authored and sponsored Republic Act No. 11463, known as the Malasakit Centers
Act of 2019. It aims to reduce to the lowest amount possible the balance of the
hospital bills of those who seek its assistance by covering patient services
and expenses, such as laboratories, medicines, surgeries, and operations.
The center
is a one-stop-shop where Filipinos, particularly poor and indigent patients,
can efficiently access medical assistance from agencies, such as DSWD,
Department of Health, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and PhilHealth.
“Salamat sa
inyong tulong, mga kababayan, at mayroon rin tayong Malasakit Center dyan sa
Butuan Medical center in Butuan City. Ang Malasakit center ay one-stop shop.
Lapitan niyo lamang na handang tumulong sa poor and indigent patients,” Go
said.
As he
continued to extend his efforts to improve access to health care assistance,
Senator Go also filed Senate Bill No. 1226, or the proposed DOH Hospital Bed
Capacity and Service Rationalization Act of 2019, which aims to authorize the
DOH to increase the bed capacity and capabilities of DOH-run hospitals for a
more efficient and systematic approach in dealing with health crises.
“Magtiwala
lang kayo sa ating gobyerno, mga kababayan ko. Ang importante ay maabot o
ma-attain natin ang herd immunity sa community para unti-unti na tayong
makabalik sa normal nating pamumuhay,” said Go.
He, then,
mentioned several projects he supported, such as the construction of the road
connecting NRJ Masao Port Road-NRJ Butuan City-Agusan del Norte Logistical
Highway, construction of Levee Road, concreting the road in Barangay Purok K-4
to Purok K-7 Tagabaca Farm-to-Market Road, and many others.
Go expressed
his gratitude towards Agusan del Norte Governor Dale Corvera, Butuan City Mayor
Ronnie Lagnada, Butuan City Vice Mayor Jose Aquino II, and other local
government officials who remain to serve their constituents amid crisis due to
COVID-19.
“Kaunting
tiis lang po at magtiwala po tayo sa ating gobyerno. Basta kami ni
Presidente Duterte, sa abot ng aming makakaya, handa kaming magserbisyo sa
inyong lahat,” Go ended.
On May 27,
similar distribution activities were conducted in the town of Tubay where 29
beneficiaries received assistance and Cabadbaran City where they handed out
relief to 38 typhoon victims. (OSBG/PIA-Caraga)
World Bank meets AgSur town's banana coop
BUTUAN CITY,
Jun. 4 -- The World Bank that primarily funds the Department of Agriculture
(DA)-Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) virtually conversed with the
Kinabugawan Farmers Producers Cooperative (KIFAPCO) of Veruela, Agusan del Sur,
the proponent group (PG) of the PRDP Caraga I-REAP or Enterprise Component.
KIFAPCO
Chairperson, Zaldy Gabato shared how their micro-enterprise on Banana
Production and Trading Marketing rapidly improved with the help of PRDP.
Apart from
the increase in income, Gabato stressed that beneficiaries became more active
in planting bananas making their coop expand from a two-hectare planting area
to five hectares.
World Bank
Consultant, Agnes Deshormes asked KIFAPCO how do the coop foresees growth and
its plan to achieve it.
Gabato
responded that they envision to strengthen KIFAPCO's marketing strategies which
will also improve the lives of the banana farmers. "In our business
marketing, we encourage the members to sell their bananas to us so that our
income will increase. In every purchase, P0.25 goes to our coop, this little
amount will go a long way," he said.
"Someday
we can use the coop's income to increase the buying price of our farmers'
bananas. This is our way to further develop the coop and help our
farmers," added Gabato.
KIFAPCO also
narrated that despite the harm brought by the pandemic, the lockdown also
served to their advantage.
"Our
LGU was very strict during the pandemic. Residents cannot go out even in our
barangay. Because of this, residents concentrated in farming specifically
banana since it is the notable commodity here. Most untilled lands were now
planted and this increased our banana production," Gabato disclosed.
In the end,
KIFAPCO and other PGs from Visayas and Mindanao were lauded by the World Bank
consultants including Eli Weiss, Maria Theresa Quinones, Tim Hancock, and Agnes
Deshormes for their hard work despite the calamities and crisis they have
encountered along the way. (DA-RFO XIII, PRDP/PIA-Agusan del Sur)
POPCOM joins UN body calling for women, girls’ rights
By Matt Joe
Ian F. Gonzaga
BUENAVISTA,
Agusan del Norte, Jun. 4 -- The Commission on Population and Development
(POPCOM) launched online the State of the World Population Report in the
country managing the global challenge of protecting the rights of women and
girls to bodily autonomy by providing quality information and on Family
Planning.
According to
Dr. Leila Joudane, Philippines’ representative to United Nations Population
Fund, the Philippines has 47 births annually per 1000 women aged 15-19 years,
higher than the average adolescent birth rate of 44 globally and 33.5 in the
ASEAN region.
Dr. Joudane
highlighted that in every five girls, one is already a mother by age 19, which
triggers the need for education regarding teenage pregnancy and sexuality to
adolescents.
Meanwhile,
POPCOM Executive Director Dr. Juan Antonio A. Perez III said that unplanned and
unintended pregnancy is also considered a global pandemic labeling adolescent
pregnancy as a national health emergency.
He
underscored the Commission's effort, local government units, and the Department
of Education in capacitating adolescents to their full potential by educating
them through the right path and disclosing the negative impact of early sex that
concludes unwanted pregnancy.
Dir. Perez
also urged its regional offices to support the needs of the local government
units to family planning services and quality information for the concrete
implementation of the Philippine Population Management Program to the
grassroots level.
Despite
registering encouraging numbers in the level of Filipino women's
decision-making on healthcare, as well as their sexual and reproductive health
and rights or SRHR, the country's 20 million-plus young people continue to
struggle in implementing their gender rights, which still account for the high
prevalence of child marriages and intimate partner violence associated with
adolescent pregnancies.
Attending
the online launching on May 20, 2021, are the focal persons from the United
Nations Population Fund, National Economic Development Authority, POPCOM
executives, regional officials, and other partner agencies. (POPCOM Caraga)
OIE endorses program to control dog-mediated rabies
BUTUAN CITY,
Jun. 4 -- The endorsement of the Philippines' Dog-Mediated Rabies Program by
the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on May 27, 2021 certifies that
the country’s protocol is in line with international standards.
This is a
significant achievement of the Philippines in its continuous efforts to
eradicate rabies from the local dog and cat population by 2030.
“We
therefore invite the general public and pet owners to support the government's
program on the control of this deadly but preventable viral disease. Let us
keep in mind to ensure our pets are properly vaccinated against rabies,” said
Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), an attached agency of the Department of
Agriculture.
BAI said the
certification was an outcome of the joint efforts of the DA, Department of
Health, Department of Education, Department of the Interior and Local
Government, local government units, non-government organizations, the academe
and private sector to fight rabies. (DA-BAI/PIA-Caraga)
Responsible
parenthood, family planning program intensified in SurSur villages
By Charina
May L. Lagunde
MARIHATAG,
Surigao del Sur, Jun. 4 -- The local government unit (LGU) of Marihatag,
Surigao del Sur has strengthened the Responsible Parenthood and Family Planning
(RPFP) Program to its five barangays amidst the pandemic.
In the
official RPFP report submitted by said LGU to the regional office of the
Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM), population workers and
barangay volunteers, observing the minimum standard health protocol, conducted
house to house visit in the five barangays of Marihatag, Surigao del Sur,
namely Brgy. Amontay, Bayan, Mararag, Alegria, and San Isidro.
The
said report showed that a total of 54 couples or individuals participated in
which 39 of them expressed their interest in the different family planning
methods. Most of them preferred pills as their chosen modern FP method; on one
hand, four couples with unmet need for Modern Family Planning were validated,
as well as four women of reproductive age were referred and provided with the
service to the Regional Health Unit.
POPCOM
Caraga together with its partners at the local and community level continues its
advocacy to empower couples and individuals to achieve their desired number,
timing, and spacing of children in the context of informed choice and
responsible parenthood as one of the thrusts of the agency gearing towards
“Matatag, Maginhawa, at Planadaong Pamilyang Pilipino.”
POPCOM
is the country’s lead organization in population management for well-planned
and empowered Filipino families and communities. Its goal is to attain a better
quality of life for all Filipinos through the management and maintenance of
population-level resources. (POPCOM Caraga/PIA-Surigao del Sur)
Gitukod nga pasilidad para sa COVID-19 sa Tandag, hapit na mahuman
By Raymond
Samson Aplaya
TANDAG
CITY, Surigao del Sur, Hunyo 4 -- Hapit na mahuman ang gitukod nga Isolation o
Quarantine Facility dinhi sa dakbayan. Kini ang gikumpirma ni Engineer Minda
Roslinda, District Engineer sa Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) –
Surigao del Sur 1st District Engineering Office (DEO).
Sa
iyang pakighinabi, gibutyag niini nga iyang nabisitahan ang maong proyekto ug
mamahimo na unta kining i- turn over sunod semana.
Apan
gikabutyag nga aduna lang kini ginagmay nga gipausab sa contractor tungod kay
diskontento kini susama na sa kurtina nga iyang gipailisan og mas nindot nga
klase nga muhaom sa usa ka Quarantine Facility.
Gawas
niini, iya usab gipabutangan og tangke sa tubig ang maong pasilidad aron nga
aduna’y magamit nga tubig ang mga ikwarentena sa maong lugar.
Sumala
pa nga iyang gipaningkamotan nga plastado tanan ang maong proyekto una kini
pormal nga i-turn over dinhi sa siyudad aron magamit na alang sa mga pasyente
sa COVID - 19 nga mopailawom sa kwarentena.
Mahinumduman
nga gisugdan ang konstruksiyon sa nasangpit nga pasilidad niadtong bulan sa
Enero niining tuiga, kungdiin gipahimutang kini sa Barangay Telaje dinhi sa
siyudad sa Tandag. (RP1 Tandag/PIA-Surigao del Sur)
Senior Citizens sa Agusan Norte kumbinsido magpabakuna batok COVID-19
By Karen
Decamotan
DAKBAYAN SA BUTUAN, Hunyo 4 -- Dako ang pagtuo ug paglaum sa mga nabakunahan na nga mga senior citizens nga mamahimong protektado ug luwas sila batok coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ug kini ang nahimong basehan sa desisyon nga magpabakuna sila.
Usa kanila
si Gorgornia Patayon Aca-ac, 74 anyos, lumulupyo sa syudad sa Cabadbaran.
Sumala pa ni
Aca-ac aduna siyay allergies apan mituo siya nga inubanan sa pag-ampo ang
makasulbad sa pandemya ang pagpabakuna lang. Niini siya mismo ang nag eng-ganyo
sa iyang mga anak nga magpabakuna.
Aminado usab
si Acaac nga bisan fully vaccinated na siya dili mamahimo mag kumpyansa ug mo
sunod gihapon siya sa mga nag-unang mga protocols nga gipatuman sa mga lokal
nga panggamhanan.
Gawas nga
maghimo kaniyang protektado gikan sa makamatay nga sakit, ang pagpabakuna alang
usab kang Fortunata Abcede sa Buenavista ang pagpabakuna magsilbing pamaagi
aron makakuha siyag vaccination card ug magamit kini niya ingkaso adunay mga
establismento nga estriktong magpatuman og “no vaccination, no entry”, ug diha
sa mga biyahe ug mga emerhensiya diin kinahanglan moadto og ospital.
Base sa
datus sa Department of Health Caraga, natala nga ang priority group A2 o senior
citizens sa probinsya sa Agusan del Norte ang kasamtangang pinakataas nga
percentage rate nga nagpabakuna kung itandi sa A1 ug A3 sa tibuok probinsya.
Daku ang
kalipay ni Gobernador Dale B. Corvera niini. Isip senior citizen ug apil usab
sa priority group A2, malipayong siya nga taas ang rate sa nagpabakuna nga mga
senior citizens. Iyang nakita nga usa ang mga katiguwangan ang huyang ug dali
gyod matakdan sa COVID-19 ug nagpasalamat siya nga nagpabakuna gyud kini sila.
“I am happy
that our senior citizen sa A2, sa akong tan-aw, nituo sila nga kini nga bakuna,
safe para sa ila bisan sa ilang edad. Ikaduha, because ang tanan impormasyon
nga niabot kanato, makita nato nga vulnerable gyod ang senior citizen.
Kasagaran casualty aning covid, mga senior gyod. In order to be protected,
mo-submit gyod sila para duna silay protection,” sumala pa ni Gob. Corvera.
Sa pagkakaron, padayon gipahigayon ang pagpabakuna sa tibuok probinsya sa Agusan del Norte, apil na niini ang second dose sa mga senior citizens. (LGU Agusan del Norte/PIA Agusan del Norte)
