Cebu guv unanimously nominated as RDC-7 chair

Cebu, Philippines (13 August)— In a mass motion, Cebu governor Gwendolyn Garcia was unanimously nominated to chair the 2007-2010 Regional Development Council in Central Visayas (RDC-7) during a full council meeting held at the Montebello Garden Hotel, Cebu City recently.

In a media interview governor Garcia said that she is expecting a harmonious working relationship with the other local chief executives of Bohol, Oriental Negros and Siquijor. “At least wala’y away.. ang nominations,” Garcia smiled.

It can be recalled that then Cong. Emilio Macias, now governor of Oriental Negros was the chair of a house committee that conducted public hearings for the “Sugbuak,” or the creation of other provinces out of Cebu provinces that was vehemently rejected by Governor Garcia.

Executive Order 325, the RDC shall nominate at least 2 local chief executives who are ex-officio members and 2 private sector representatives, from whom the President shall select and appoint as RDC chair and Co-chair.

The Regional Development Council in Central Visayas has been very instrumental in endorsing mega projects that generated economic and tourism development in the region.

With Governor Garcia’s “no-nonsense” track record in local governance and fiscal management, the members of the RDC here is looking forward to a more aggressive economic and tourism boom in Central Visayas as it is the hub of tourism in the President’s “Super Regions” blueprint.

Garcia’s nomination will still be submitted to the President for confirmation and appointment. (PIA-Cebu/MBCN)

TOLEDO CITY MO-DEVELOP OG BAG-O NGA TOURISM SITES

Cebu City (August 9, 2007) – Gawas sa agrikultura, gitinguha na sab karon sa syudad sa Toledo ang pagpalambo sa bag-o nga mga lugar nga pwedeng makadani sa mga turista nga mobisita unya sa maong lugar.

Pipila niini, matud ni konsehal Alfonso Mercado, mao ang pagdevelop sa sapa sa Hinulawan og sa dam sa barangay Malubog.

Matud ni Mercado, sa maong paagi mahatagan og higayon ang mga mobisita sa Toledo City sa pagsuroy-suroy ngadto sa nahisgutang mga lugar samtang makahatag usab og dugang trabaho alang sa ilang mga lumulupyo.

Sa pagkakaron, padayon pa ang kagamhanan sa Toledo sa pagpahigayon og pulong-pulong kauban ang mga national agencies sa kagamhanan og pribadong sector bahin niini. (Roberto M. Cabardo/PIA AMO 7 Cebu)

CORN FESTIVAL IPAHIGAYON SA SYUDAD SA TOLEDO

Cebu City (August 9, 2007) – Human sa napulo ka tuig nga pagkahunong, ang syudad sa Toledo sa probinsya sa Sugbo maoy napili nga lugar diin saulugon ang Corn Festival karong petsa biente dos hangtud biente kwatro ning bulana.

Gipaabot nga motambong sa kalihukan ang kalihim sa Deparrment of Agriculture, Arthur Yap isip pinasidunggang dinapit kauban ang mga opisyales sa probinsya pinanguluhan ni Gobernador Gwendolyn Garcia og sa mayor sa Toledo City Arlene Zambo.

Gibutyag ni Francisco Sopsop, Regional Coordinator sa programa alang sa mais sa DA 7 nga ang maong kalihukan gihimo sa Toledo City tungod kay ang Toledo mao man ang adunay pinakadako nga umahan sa mais dinhi sa tunga-tungang Kabisay-an.

Si Alfonso Mercado, konsehal sa Toledo City, nibutyag sab nga human sa pait nga kasinatian sa Toledo City sa dihang nanira ang Atlas Mining sa sayong bahin sa dekada nobenta, gitinguha gayud sa dakbayan sa Toledo ang pagbalanse sa industriya og agrikultura mao nga gikalipay nila ang pagpahigayon og corn festival sa ilang syudad.

Sa nasayran, nobenta porsiyento sa populasyon sa rehiyon ang mokaon og mais ilabi na nga nahibaw-an sab karon nga maayo ang mais kay sa humay alang niadtong adunay sakit nga diabetes.

Ang nasudnong kagamhanan, nagplano na sab karon sa paghimo og biofuel o alternatibong source sa biofuel nga isambog sa gasolina.(Roberto M. Cabardo/PIA AMO 7 Cebu)

BFAD MIPAHUGOT SA PAGMONITOR SA PROCESSED FOODS

Cebu City (August 10, 2007) – Aron pagseguro nga luwas ang pagkaon sa katawhan, padayon nga gihingusgan karon sa BFAD ang monitoring sa mga processed foods.

Kini maoy gibutyag ni Monina Coyoca, ang hepe sa Bureau of Food and Drugs dinhi sa rehiyon.

Niingon sab si Coyoca nga sa niaging semana, aduna na silay gipadala nga mga processed foods nga gagikan sa laing nasod aron masusi sa ilang laboratoryo sa kauluhan kung ang maong mga produkto luwas ba nga kaonon.

Kung mahinumduman, ang BFAD nidili sa pagpakaon sa katawhan sa pipila ka mga produktong gikan sa China human nasayran nga ang mga noodles, white rabbit, processed meat og uban pang produkto adunay sagol nga formalin nga sagad gamiton sa pag-embalsamar og dili angay nga isagol sa pagkaon sa tawo.

Sa katapusan, padayong gipahimangnuan sa BFAD ang publiko sa dili una pagkaon sa mga produktong gagikan sa China.(Roberto M. Cabardo/PIA AMO 7 Cebu)

BIR intensifies collection from delinquent taxpayers

Cebu, Philippines (9 August)—The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)-region 13, covering the provinces of Cebu and Bohol has intensified its tax collection among the delinquent taxpayers in the region.

BIR-region 13 taxpayer assistant unit head and information officer designate Zorahaida de la Cruz bared that the office has identified 338 delinquent taxpayers and as of June 2007, BIR has collected P2.7-million from them.

De la Cruz added that most of these delinquent taxpayers are those paying through second installments from their compensation and these are mostly income earners and those who are self-employed.

“We are also after those companies who failed to pay their taxes for whatever reasons. If the company could no longer pay because it is bankrupt or losing, the office will look at its properties and will go through the legal process under garnishment to really compel them to pay their taxes,” De la Cruz explained.

For those companies that are still operating but could not afford to pay, the BIR enjoins them to avail of its amnesty program, she added.

The BIR offices throughout the country have been intensifying their collections from delinquent taxpayers to increase their revenue collection efforts after several of them failed to reach their revenue targets during the first semester of the year.

De la Cruz was quick to add that BIR-region 13 that covers Cebu and Bohol is right on target with its goal of collection of P9.1Billion. “We already have collected about P4.1Billion covering the first semester of this year. “ This is 22.70% higher than the P3.2Billion collected over the same period in 2006, she said. (PIA-Cebu/MBCN)

Halad ni PGMA for MUSLIM COMMUNITY

Cebu, City (07 August)— More than a thousand Muslims from the different communities in Cebu City gathered at the grounds of the Malacañang sa Sugbo recently to avail of the various government agencies’ services and programs.

Sakiran Hajan, OMA Regional Director, during his speech said that this is a historic moment considering that it is the first time that such an activity is held in extending government services to the Muslim Community here in Cebu.

He was very much grateful to Hon. Felix C. Guanzon, Presidential Assistant for Central Visayas (OPCV) who initiated the activity in cooperation with the Association of Regional Executives of National Agencies (ARENA-7), Association of Government Information Officers (AGIO-7) and the Association of Higher Education Institutions in Region VII (AHEIR-7).

The City Government spearheaded by Hon. Tomas R. Osmeña also gave its assistance thru medical-dental services conducted by the City Health medical-dental team together with the Central Command, Philippine Coast Guard and Philippine National Police.

Some nursing students from the Southwestern University and Cebu Normal University have also shown their support to this event. Medicines were well-provided by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

Their was a signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Office of the Presidential Assistant for Central Visayas (OPCV) and some lead agencies concerning the needs of the Muslim people like health, livelihood, employment, housing and leadership trainings.

TESDA gave almost twenty awardees for scholarship trainings such as slaughtering, electronics and welding while the Sacred Heart School of the Society of Jesus will grant 10 Muslim students free tuition scholarship program (five for grade school and five for high school) subject to the school’s policy on such grants governing deportment and academic performance.

The City Registrar was also able to process nearly a thousand birth certificates of Muslim that have already been residing here in Cebu City.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) on the other hand had processed more than a hundred of student licenses and renewal of professional licenses thru their mobile, E-LTO program.

PA Felix C. Guanzon, in his message said that this is historic because it is probably the first time that Muslims who used to reside in Mindanao but are now residents of Cebu City and other areas in the region, are being cared for in a special way, not just for today but for the next three years of the Arroyo Administration.

“We are tying to prove that what basic services they failed to get in Mindanao which is a troubled land, they are getting it here in Central Visayas, the region of peace and economic progress,” Guanzon added.

This is the 20^th Halad sa Katawhan of the PGMA administration and the next activity will be on August 29, 2007 at the Brgy. Kampoot, Tuburan, Cebu which will be spearheaded by the Philippine National Police. (PIA-7 Cebu/hfg)

The ‘dancing inmates’ of Cebu

Cebu , Philippines (02 August)—The ‘dancing inmates’ of Cebu has hit the YouTube with a 3.2M internet viewers worldwide as of August 1, 2007!

Who would ever think that an innocent posting at the YouTube of a video of 1500 local prisoners dancing to the tunes of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Japan’s Algorithm March would create a wave of SMILEY reactions from all over the world.

Byron Garcia, security consultant of Cebu province and a brother of the governor said, it was just an innocent video sharing of a routine dance fitness exercises of the inmates of the Cebu provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) to show other jailers that there are innovative ways to instill discipline among inmates.

“I did not expect a global response to my posting it at the YouTube.” Garcia added. He stressed that he was just finding ways how to keep the prisoners preoccupied and how to improve discipline among them.

“The governor told me to introduce reforms towards rehabilitation. Making the inmates dance was my idea of revolutionizing time spent in jail and at the same time disciplining the inmates. Except for the elderly and the sick, dancing as a form of physical fitness is compulsory to the inmates,” Byron Garcia said.

Garcia admitted though that when he introduced the dance idea, the inmates grumbled and even refused to follow the lead of a dance instructor that was detailed at the CPDRC for this particular purpose.

Garcia himself he revealed has to learn the steps of the Algorithm March and other song-dance combinations to show the prisoners that anybody can dance and learn to if one puts his/her mind and body into it.

The routine dance fitness exercise became the inmates’ pastime as friendly dance competition among the inmates’ cell groups was introduced in the CPDRC.

The rest is history, as they say.

Yesterday, 1500 inmates garbed in their usual “orange” jail uniforms performed live at the CPDRC grounds in front of guests, provincial officials, judges, prosecutors and local and foreign media. The presentation was one of the highlights of Cebu province’s week-long activities for its 438^th founding anniversary on August 6.

The inmates opened their presentation with a Pass in Review to the tune of “In the Navy” and “YMCA” and the succeeding dances were to the music of “Dayang-Dayang,” “I will Follow You,” ‘Hail Holy Queen” and Radio Gaga,” and they ended their production with the famous Michael Jackson’s hit video “Thriller.”

Giant international TV networks such as CNN, BBC had already featured the dancing inmates in their various programs while the ABC network based in Singapore came with a crew to document the whole presentation as well as other TV crews from Japan , China and Singapore also covered the event.

It was standing ovation after the presentation specifically because the performers are prisoners some of them are convicted murderers and rapists. Calvin Tan, the most notorious of the inmates being the suspected brains behind the mega shabu lab operations in mandaue City, who was arrested in Hongkong and extradited in Cebu, showed his prowess in ballroom dancing with a pretty female inmate.

Local judges and prosecutors said that the performance showed how well managed the jail facility is while the DILG-7 led by its regional director, Pedro Noval filmed the event and told the media that they will recommend the province’s rehabilitation program as an entry to the search for “Gawad Pook Kalinga Award.”

“It is a good entry for the search of innovations and the focus of jail management is more on rehabilitation of prisoners and we want this practiced in jails nationwide,” Noval added.

Some of the guests that saw the live performance said, they were so touched watching the happy faces of the dancers, “to think that some of them are hardened criminals.

Leo Suico, CPDRC’s acknowledged inmates leader, in his welcome remarks said, “ang among peprformance nangpakita nga dili na mi ma-consider nga mga taya sa katilingban” once they are released from jail.

In a media interview, Byron Garcia beamed and said, he is proud of the inmates’ accomplishments so far. “More can still be expected from them. Watch them and you will see discipline at work.”

The province’s security consultant who is also the brother of the governor added that he plans a musical show with the inmates on October 12, the governor’s birthday and he promised a wonderful show because “people in the world keep on watching.” (PIA-Cebu/MBCN)