BSP holds first advocacy drive for elementary pupils in Dumaguete
by Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, October 17 (PIA) --- The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental recently held an information campaign at the Silliman University School of Basic Education (SUSBE) on the various BSP advocacy programs.
A total of 1,050 elementary pupils from SUSBE, together with the school's faculty, staff and Parent-Teachers Association (PTA), attended the advocacy program held October 13, 2011 at the SUSBE campus grounds.
During said program, BSP Dumaguete Branch Research Specialist and in-charge of the Economic and Financial Learning Center Divine Labitad gave a lecture on the new generation Philippine banknotes, National Coin Recirculation and the BSP' Clean Note Policy.
During her talk, she campaigned for the proper handling of bills and coins and also urged the school staff to actively participate in the Tulong Barya sa Eskwela project, one of the strategies employed by BSP under its National Coin Recirculation program.
She also encouraged the pupils to make it a habit to save money by allotting a portion of their daily allowances and saving them in banks.
"Saving money in banks and money management are the keys to becoming financially responsible adults," said Labitad.
Information materials featuring stories on saving and money management were also distributed to the pupils.
A special exchange counter was also set up during the program where the pupils exchanged their old bills with the new generation currency notes.
A total of 492 pieces of 10-peso commemorative coins were also sold during the event, added Labitad.
President of the Bankers Club in Negros Oriental Leodegario Rosales also discussed the newly-launched Special Kiddie Account Program by the banking community in the province.
Kids aged seven years old and above may open an account in participating banks with only an initial deposit of P100 or less, said Rosales.
This was the first campaign done by BSP for elementary students in the province.
"We are now working on conducting similar campaigns in other elementary schools," said Labitad. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)
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Agri-fair, congress held to mark Negros Oriental’s Buglasan Festival
By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, October 17 (PIA) --- Farmers and fisherfolks from across Negros Oriental gathered in the province’s capital city of Dumaguete from October 13 to 14, 2011 for the Buglasan NegOrganic Farm Family Agricultural Fair and Congress.
Said activity was held inside the Provincial Nursery compound to mark the ongoing Buglasan Festival of Festivals being celebrated in the city until October 23, 2011.
The agri-fair featured various booth farm product displays from rural-based organizations whose members are composed of farmers, fisherfolks, rural improvement and 4-H clubs from Canlaon Citydown to Basay town, according to Nittz Bangay, information officer of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist here.
Bangay said members of said organizations pitted their skills against each other during contests such as poster-making, dance/remix, Miss 4-H beauty pageant, extemporaneous speech, coco-based handicraft, Tilapia coco-based cooking, crab-catching, best tilapia sardines and a Vhong Navarro Look-Sing/Dance-alike contest.
Simultaneous sectoral activities were also held on the second day such as method demonstrations on organic fertilizer formulation, meat processing, vegetable salad or rice-based handicraft, locally-mixed feeds, and fish-catching.
The two-day event culminated with an awarding of prizes to the winners of the various contests followed by a raffle draw aimed at raising funds for members of the rural-based organizations. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)
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Amlan town to launch marine conservation campaign
by Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, October 16 (PIA) --- The coastal town of Amlan in Negros Oriental is set to launch a campaign that hopes to spur its residents to take pride in the town's marine resources and motivate them to protect their natural resources.
Dubbed the "Rare Pride Campaign", the program will launch on October 18 at Amlan Boulevard from 7:00 a.m. until 9:30 p.m. featuring activities that will engage local communities including fisherfolks and their families.
Activities slated for the launching include a fluvial parade, motorcade, street dancing, community prayers by various church groups, poster-making contests for school children, and a live band to cap the whole-day event.
Amlan Information Officer Sheilah Mae Tubigon said the Rare Pride Campaign is a partnership program among the local government of Amlan, Negros Oriental provincial government through the Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Rare organization and its non-government organization partners.
The campaign brings to light the various conservation strategies being employed by Amlan's coastal barangays to improve the management of their marine protected areas as part of the town's Coastal Resource Management.
“One of these strategies is utilizing social marketing to change environmentally-destructive behaviors,” said Ligon.
The campaign will also help secure fish stocks for the marginal fisherfolks of Amlan and contribute to marine biodiversity in the region, she added.
Amlan is the only town in the province and one of the 12 nationwide chosen to implement the Rare Pride Campaign project.
Located 21 kilometers north of Dumaguete City, the capital city of Negros Oriental, Amlan boasts of two marine sanctuaries in Brgy. Tandayag and Brgy. Bio-os, two of its five coastal barangays.
The other coastal villages are Mag-abo, Jugno and Poblacion.
Rare is a non-profit organization based in Arlingon, Virgina, USA focusing on social marketing for biodiversity conservation in more than 50 countries worldwide. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)