RPOC 7 to launch Search for Outstanding Tanod Teams

Tanods in the Central Visayas region may now be given due recognition for the role they are playing in keeping their respective barangays safe and secure.

This after the Regional Peace and Order Council (RPOC) adopted a proposal presented by Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Regional Director Pete A. Noval, Jr. in a meeting Friday, July 06, to launch a regional Search for Outstanding Tanod Teams.

Dir. Noval stressed that the search is a way of acknowledging the accomplishments of the Barangay Tanods who are actively fighting criminality at the grassroots level but who are sometimes working unnoticed.

The search aims to encourage cooperation in maintaining peace and order in the community, Noval informed.

The criteria for the search will be composed of the performance factor (60 %) and the critical factor (40 %). The search, which is first in the country, will start at the municipal level.

The mayor, who is the chairperson of the municipal POC, will head the awards committee at the municipal level while the governor and the RPOC chair will head the provincial and the regional awards committees, respectively.

Winning tanod teams at the municipal level will receive P5,000.00 and will automatically represent the contest at the provincial level.

RPOC 7 Chair and Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia said the search is timely since the Council already has money for the contest but there is a need to inform its local counterparts so that they will have time to look for funds for the awards at their level.

BFP-7 receives disaster response equipment from Canadian Embassy

Cebu City (4 July) -- To immediately respond to man-made disasters caused by any chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) agent, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP-7) received 19 boxes of assorted equipment and materials donated by the Canadian Embassy for such purpose.

BFP-7 Regional Director S/Supt. Eleuterio Iturriaga in a PIA Kapihan this morning disclosed that he is still awaiting a list of inventory of the 19 boxes but that the equipment and tools given by the Canadian Embassy include entry suits, boots, goggles, helmets, gas masks and injectable medicines.

Iturriaga however, said the equipment donation may not be for the BFP-7 alone but include members of the police, military and the health department in the region.

Two months ago, the Canadian Embassy conducted a seminar in Cebu to members of the BFP-7, Philippine National Police-7, Philippine Army, Philippine Air Force and the Department of Health-7 relative to disaster risk management on CBRN, this is learned.

By October, personnel from the Canadian Embassy will come back to Cebu to train the participants on how to use these equipment and tools in CBRN rescue operations, according to Iturriaga.

Iturriaga cannot say how much the total value of the equipment donation is but said an entry suit costs about P300T each.

The BFP-7 helps in extending emergency services especially in rescue and retrieval operations in times of disastrous events as a member of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC).

Though Iturriaga admitted their agency lacks sophisticated equipment particularly in the rescue and retrieval efforts but that their personnel have sufficient training on rescue and emergency situations.

"Basic emergency rescue training is now included in the BFP program," Iturriaga said.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD-7) Regional Director Angel Gaviola however clarified that fire situations do not warrant as a disaster incident. (PIA-Cebu/FCR)

Cebu holds forum for 2008 budget

Cebu City (4 July) -- To have their budget proposals in place this early, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in the region convened the top officials of some government agencies and state universities and colleges (SUCs) recently.

DBM Regional Director Atty. Carmela Fernan, in a forum, oriented the officials of the Department of Education (Deped), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), NEDA and SUCs on the thrusts of the National Budget Memorandum No. 100 which laid the framework for the 2008 budget.

The memorandum, Fernan said, aims to balance the national budget in line with the goals set in the Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan (MTPDP).

NBM 100 prioritizes key strategic programs that support the 10-point Legacy Agenda outlined by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in her State of the Nation Address (SONA) in July last year and with the Millennium Development Goals, she stressed.

The medium term plan's priority concerns, as approved by the president, are infrastructure build-up and the improvement of the quality of basic education and of health services, Atty. Fernan said.

The said budget memorandum pegged the ceiling of each government agency. DepEd's budget can never exceed P135 billion while that of the Department of National Defense (DND) and DPWH were set at P78 billion and P75 billion, respectively.

Fernan said that the central offices of the National Government Agencies should inform their respective regional offices of their program thrusts and the supposed distribution of funds to serve as guide in preparing the budget proposals at the regional level.

The proposed national budgets are scheduled to be submitted to Congress this coming July 23. (PIA-Cebu/\ECD)

OCD-7: 80% of local disaster councils in Central Visayas already formed

Cebu City (4 July) -- As the nation celebrates July as "National Disaster Consciousness Month," about 80 percent of the disaster coordinating councils from the province down to the city, municipal and to the barangay level has already been organized.

Office of Civil Defense (OCD-7) Regional Director Angel Gaviola in this morning's PIA Kapihan that tackled on disaster preparedness said local disaster councils have been formed but cannot say whether these are functional.

Gaviola said it is the responsibility of the Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG-7) to check whether these local disaster councils are operational.

The OCD-7 acts as the vice-chair of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council in Central Visayas chaired by the Philippine National Police (PNP-7).

Gaviola however, said provincial, city and municipal disaster councils in the region are quite active but the major problem lies in the barangay level.

The RDCC, an inter-agency government body, offers various services from search and rescue operations to relief and rehabilitation but only in augmentation of the direct services provided by respective local government units (LGUs) in their areas of jurisdiction.

Gaviola told reporters to check on LGUs what they are doing relative to disaster preparedness especially with the onset of the rainy season where typhoons, flooding and landslides often occur.

For the past two years, the RDCC has provided seminars and trainings to LGUs that include disaster risk management, incident command system training, capability building and skills enhancement.

Central Visayas is lucky as incidence of disaster is not that frequent with the worst disaster recorded back in 1990 where Typhoon Ruping caused almost a week of blackout in Cebu and water supply was a problem. Damages of crops and houses were also massive, according to Gaviola.

Gaviola said the celebration of Disaster Consciousness Month every July has been observed for the past seven years aimed at raising the level of public awareness on disaster preparedness. (PIA-Cebu/FCR)

Philip Morris launches Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards

Cebu City (3 July) -- To give recognition to Filipino journalists who are promoting the country's agriculture industry, Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing, Inc. (PMPMI) launched the first Bright Leaf Agriculture Journalism Awards this year.

The contest, which is open to all Filipino professional journalists 18 years old and above, will focus on agriculture and other issues that gear towards the promotion of sustainable development.

In an invitation letter sent to the various print and broadcast media outlets throughout the country, the Awards Secretariat said this news and feature competition aims to bring the country's agriculture industry to the forefront of the Filipino's consciousness.

This is in response to the increasing need to communicate agriculture considering the significant role the sector is contributing to the country's economy, the Secretariat noted.

The Secretariat expressed hopes that the Bright Leaf Awards will become institutionalized as an annual event which will acknowledge both the contributions to journalistic excellence and the dissemination of information on best agriculture practices and the development of quality crops that protects the environment and encourage the workers' safety and support sustainability.

The winner for the Agriculture Story of the Year Grand Award will receive a brand new laptop, a trophy/plague and P50,000) in cash while the winner for the Tobacco Story of the Year Special Award will receive a laptop, a trophy/plague and P20,000.

Winners for other categories, such as the Best Agriculture News Story, Best Agriculture Feature Story, Best Agriculture Photo, Best Agriculture TV Program/Segment and Best Agriculture Radio Program/Segment, will each receive P20,000 and a trophy/plaque.

Entries whether news or feature stories, should be published or broadcast within the period from July 2006 to June 30, 2007 in the Philippines. They may come either in English or in any of the Regional languages.

For those who intend to join the contest and would want to make further inquiries may contact the Awards website at www.brightleafawards.com. Deadline for the submission of entries is on August 10, 2007 at 7 p.m. (PIA-Cebu/ECD)

NEDA mobilizes gov't agencies for population census 2007

Cebu, Philippines (2 July) -- The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) in the region (NEDA-7) convened the regional census coordinating board (RCCB) recently to mobilize government agencies and institutions to establish appropriate mechanisms for statistical coordination at the local levels (regional, provincial, city and municipal) to ensure the successful conduct of the 2007 Census of Population that will be conducted in August this year.

NEDA-7 regional director Marlene Rodriguez said, the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) issued several resolutions enjoining government agencies and institutions to assist the National Statistics Office (NSO) with available facilities, publicity and any form of assistance that it requires to conduct the POPCEN 2007.

NSO-7 regional director Atty. Lilia Tandoc on the other hand revealed that the NSO could not conduct the census of Population in 2005 due to budgetary constraints and the uncertainty of funds to support the remaining activities.

In lieu of this, the 2007 Census of Population was planned and the President proclaimed August 2007 as “National Census Month” to highlight the significance and importance of a census undertaking this year, Tandoc added.

In the same meeting, NEDA-7 regional director said that the RCCB shall assess and assist the needs of NSO in the region in terms of transportation, communication, security and publicity.

At the outset, state colleges and universities in the region that include Cebu Normal University, Cebu State College for Science and Technology, Siquijor State College and Negros Oriental State University will be used as venues for enumerators’ trainings in their respective provinces as well as recommend some students as census enumerators while the military, police, department of Agrarian Reform and local government units committed to provide whatever assistance needed by the NSO to secure and ensure the complete coverage of the areas for census.

As far as publicity and promotions are concerned, all government agencies and institutions were enjoined to include the POPCEN 2007 information in their respective offices’ gatherings, forums and or meetings.

The Philippine Information Agency (PIA-7) in the region has already lined-up the NSO and other members of the RCCB for tri-media (print, radio and TV) guesting in Cebu, Bohol and in Oriental Negros within the month of July 2007: July 2, NSO is guest at DYLA; July 3, at AGIO Forum; July 12, at Kapihan sa PIA in Bohol; July 18, at Kapihan sa PIA in Cebu and OrNeg (live over DYMR, delayed telecast at SkyCable 15 and RPN-9) and on July 27, at CCTN.

In the same development, Cebu City has also convened the Cebu City Census Coordinating Board said City administrator Francisco Fernandez in a media interview over the weekend. Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña issued an executive order creating the CCCB and this will be forwarded to the cebu City council for appropriate action.

Fernandez added that the CCCB is tasked to coordinate with the NSO to provide the agency with whatever assistance it needs for the full coverage of the Census of Population in the city. (PIA-Cebu/MBCN)

Oil and gas prospects in Central Philippines most promising

Cebu, Philippines (01 July) -- Oil and gas prospects in Central Philippines are most promising, says the Department of Energy (DOE) in the region after it completed its seismic surveys in the seas of Cebu and will soon start searching for oil and natural gas deposits in the seas of Bohol.

DOE regional director Antonio Labios in a media interview last week said, "DOE and the contractor officials are actually having a continuing dialog with the local officials and NGOs in Bohol since stakeholders in the province opposed the survey but definitely, the seismic survey in the Bohol seas will start this week."

In a briefing conducted by DOE to the members of the RDC-Infrastructure Development Committee (IDC) during its June 8 meeting, a delegation from DOE-Manila led by its undersecretary Guillermo Balce presented to the body updates on the government’s exploration surveys in the Philippine area.

Balce revealed that the DOE has scheduled seismic surveys in June and July 2007 in the Cebu Strait within the vicinity of Argao town to explore the prospects of oil and gas resources in the area. The project is called “2007 Trinity Marine Seismic Survey Services Contract 51 LEG in Cebu,” or SC-51.

According to Balce, the contract was awarded to NorAsian Energy Ltd., and SC-51 is just one of the many exploration projects of the Philippine government and whatever oil and gas resources that will be discovered are government-owned.

DOE further said, most of its oil explorations are done in the Palawan and Sulu Sea areas but one of the most promising areas is in the Visayas Basin that covers some 80,000 sq.km in the Central Philippines and 60% of which lies offshore.

The prospects of oil and natural gas resources that are found on both sides of Cebu and Bohol that NorAsian will explore cover some 2040 sq.km portion in the Cebu Strait and another 2400 sq.km mostly on-shore areas of northeastern Leyte and some offshore areas too. These areas had been assessed as “moderate risk, matured prospects with high to very high recoverable reserves potential” for both natural gas and oil, the exploration team explained.

In the same RDC-IDC briefing, the local officials of Bohol and Cebu expressed their concerns on the effect of the survey to the marine life in the areas and to the livelihood of the marginal fishermen.

The DOE has assured the local government officials that NorAsia has already coordinated with the concerned LGUs, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), dive operators and all other organizations and has done an extensive information campaign and consultations with stakeholders relative to the exploration project. Balce added that the contractor had taken all necessary precautions and safety measures before it undertook the surveys.

For safety measures according to NorAsia, they have already requested sea crafts plying the route to keep a distance of 8.5km from the seismic survey vessel while swimming activities must be done at 10km away from the vessel.

The contractor added the survey areas were cleared of fishing gear such as “Payaw” and similar structures. Fishes and whales were also driven away from the survey areas through what they call “Test shots.”

“All these measures are necessary because the seismic survey vessel has limited ability to maneuver and it cannot stop immediately and furthermore, the survey operations emit sound energy of up to 200 decibels, exceeding the sound levels that are considered safe to the hearing of human and whales and other sea mammals,” NorAsia explained.

NorAsia experienced delays in the conduct of the seismic surveys in Cebu’s waters when the affected fishermen in the towns of Argao and Sibonga raised the issue on compensation to their inability to fish for ten days when their “payaws” were dismantled. However, the issue was immediately resolved and the contractor paid about P287,000 and some P250,000 to the affected fishermen in Sibonga and Argao respectively.

As the surveys were on-going, several environmental groups and NGOs in Bohol led by Lawyer Raul Barbarona, ELAC executive director, with City Legal Officer and environmentalist Doni Piquero, Integrated Bar of the Philippines Bohol representative and lawyer Florendo Columnas and Bohol Alliance of Non-Government Organizations (BANGON) went to court for a temporary restraining order on the survey.

As these developed, DOE regional director Antonio Labios said, as soon as the search for oil and natural gas deposits are completed, consultations and public hearings are conducted before the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) issues an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) for the exploration to begin.

According to EMB-7 director Allan Aranguez, “because the project is wide scale, the issuance of the ECC to the project must be supported with resolutions from the affected LGUs that they have conducted public hearings and that they have understood and approved of the project.

Arranguez added, “That will take some time because before the municipalities approve such resolutions, they must also have the endorsements of every affected barangay.”

Meantime, the search for oil and natural gas resources in the Central Philippines continues as the DOE boldly embarked on an aggressive petroleum exploration, development and production to improve the country’s energy self-sufficiency. Oil and gas discoveries will not only increase energy sufficiency, it will also lead to the growth of the energy industry; attract overseas investments; and create more jobs, national pride and technology transfer. (PIA-Cebu/MBCN)