P1.4-M school building breaks ground in NegOr village
By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, October 4 (PIA) --- A new two-classroom school building recently broke ground at Bal-os National High School in Basay town, Negros Oriental.
Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo personally led the groundbreaking ceremony of said building worth P1.4 million funded under the provincial government’s Special Education Fund.
During the ceremony, the teachers and the parents of the school children at Bal-os National High School thanked the governor for responding to their request for an additional school building.
Some 30 school buildings have been targeted to be built under Gov. Degamo’s administration.
This after Degamo pledged to continue the public school building construction program of the late Gov. Emilio Macias under whose administration around 150 total classrooms were built, said Capitol Information Officer Adrian Sedillo.
Sedillo said Degamo is intent on continuing the school building program as education is one of the three major components of his administration’s centerpiece program dubbed “Health, Education and Livelihood Program” (HELP). (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)
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Bindoy LGU, Army’s 302 Brigade hold joint free health services
by Jennifer Catan-Tilos
DUMAGUETE CITY, Oct. 4 (PIA) The local government unit of Bindoy in cooperation with the army’s 302 Brigade served 1,320 municipal residents for free medical and dental mission over the weekend at the covered court in Bindoy.
Civil Military Operations Officer, Major Conrado Evangelista said the CIVAC provided medical consultations to 600 persons, 59 for minor surgeries to include the circumcision, 151 for dental check-up and tooth extractions, 35 haircut and massage and 475 for blood pressure examination.
Evangelista said the participation of some stakeholders highlight the activity which include Mabinay Municipal Health Office, Negros Oriental Provincial Health Office, Philippine Association of Medical Technologies-Negros Oriental and Siquijor Chapter, Philippine National Red Cross-Dumaguete City Chapter, Congresswoman Jocelyn S Limkaichong of 1stDistrict, Negros Oriental, Board Members Liland Estacion and Jessica Villanueva of 1st District, Negros Oriental.
For his part, 302 Brigade Commander Col Patrimonio said that army is always committed to perform community services through “Bayanihan” with the stakeholders in order to win the peace in the province.
Bindoy Mayor Vicente Yap initiated the free health services for his constituents and personally managed the activity together with Col Patrimonio and 1st Lt Roel Morales Jr, the medical and dental team leader.
Maj Evangelista said the workforce of 11th Infantry Battalion, reservists of 703rd Community Defense Center and CAFGU members from Alpha Coy, 12th (CADRE) Battalion also joined the health team to assist the services. (PIA-NegOr/JCT)
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DSWD7 holds KALAHI-CIDDS MCC orientation in NegOr
by Jennifer Catan-Tilos
DUMAGUETE CITY, Oct. 3 (PIA) Some 125 local government officials have participated in recently the orientation on Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) in Dumaguete City.
The attendees include the mayors, vice mayors, municipal accountant, municipal budget officers, municipal planning And development coordinators, municipal engineers, ABC presidents, civil society organizations, municipal social welfare and development offricers, and local government operations officers of selected municipalities.
The government’s poverty reduction program activity covers the targetted municipalities under the KALAHI-CIDSS project funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
MCC grants $120 million to fund the expansion of the Philippine government’s KALAHI-CIDSS or KC) program, a community-driven development program aimed at empowering communities to identify and implement development projects to reduce poverty and improve livelihoods.
Regional Social Marketing Officer Kaye Pantinople of the Department of Social Welfare and Develiopment (DSWD) said the selection of target municipalities for this poverty-alleviation program was done last May which include the following municipalities of Ayungon, Basay, Bindoy, Dauin, Jimalalud, Mabinay, Manjuyod, Pamplona, Sta. Catalina, Vallehermoso, and Zambanguita.
Pantinople said, as one of the Philippine government’s poverty-reduction programs implemented by the DSWD, KALAHI-CIDSS works to minimize poverty using the community-driven development (CDD) approach.
CDD teaches communities how to select, design, and implement sub-projects that respond to their most vital needs. These sub-projects may becommon infrastructure facilities such as farm-to-market roads, school buildings, potable waterworks systems, electrification, and day care centers, said DSWD official.
Spearheaded by the Regional Project Management (RPMO) Team of the DSWD Field Office VII, the orientation is part of the preparatory activities that will lead to the Project’s start-up operation in 2012. (PIA NegOr/JCT)
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Dumaguete, NegOr governments line up triple celebrations for animals
By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, October 3 (PIA) --- The local governments of Dumaguete City and Negros Oriental have lined up triple celebrations marking World Rabies Day, World Animal Day and the Animal Welfare Week from September 26 to October 7 this year.
The activities lined up for said celebrations will be implemented through the office of the City Veterinarian, Provincial Veterinary Office and the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), according to Dumaguete City Information Officer Steve Gabriel.
The activities scheduled involve a tri-media information campaign on responsible pet owners carried out by personnel from the Department of Education and the Department of Interior and Local Government, and an “Operation Kapon” or male dog castration which was held on Sept. 28.
A dog walk and breakfast get-together among local dog owners were also held on the same day at the Dumaguete City Quezon Park along with the first Negros Oriental Dog Show All-Breed Fun Match and Dress-Up and Canina Couture Competitions at the Valencia Sports Complex in Valencia town, said Gabriel.
A free clinic offering free rabies vaccination, deworming, consultation and treatment, and dog castration will be done on October 4 from 1:00 to 4:00 in the afternoon. This will be followed by a mass celebration of the World Animal Day and Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron of pets, at St. Joseph Seminary in Agan-An, Sibulan town.
Gabriel explained that rabies infection among humans is preventable through prompt medical care. “Elimination of rabies through vaccination is one of our primary objectives,” he said, adding that the activities hope to promote responsible pet ownership in the local community.
Interested dog owners who wish to join said activities may call the Office of the City Veterinarian at 422-8128. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental with reports from Syril Repe)
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Dumaguete to host Batang Pinoy regional eliminations
By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, October 3 (PIA) --- The Dumaguete City government thru the City Sports Office is now gearing up for the hosting of the regional eliminations of Batang Pinoy Sports Festival on November 10, 2011.
City Sports Officer Joe Guirit said he is now scheduling meetings with the sports officials in the different local government units (LGUs) here and representatives from the Department of Education (DepEd) for said sports event.
Guirit, in a statement from the Dumaguete City Information Office, said that Philippine Sports Commissioner Chito Loyzaga personally met with Dumaguete City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria last month to discuss details of the regional leg of the Batang Pinoy competition to be held in the city.
Batang Pinoy is a grassroots multi-event sports competition initiated by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) per Executive Order No. 44 for kids aged 13 to 15 years old.
It was created to address the need for a grassroots program centered on values formation inherent in the practice of sports and play.
This year’s sports festival aims to identify young talents who will represent the country during the 2nd Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China in 2014, said Guirit.
Other regional elimination rounds across the country will be hosted by Zamboanga City, Baguio City and Makati City with the national competition set to be staged in Naga City on December 10 to 13, 2011. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental with reports from Syril Repe)
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NGO invites Vis-Min bloggers to join blogging contest
by Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, October 3 (PIA) --- Bloggers aged between 13 to 35 years old based in the Visayas and Mindanao areas are invited to join the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) Triennial Awards Blogging Contest.
The contest aims to promote the inspiring stories and work of RAFI-recognized development workers in Visayas and Mindanao.
With the theme "Shaping the Big Picture of Change," participating bloggers must highlight the RAFI Triennial Awards and its awardees and finalists, according to a statement from Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. Communications Officer Haidee Emmie Palapar.
Entrants are expected to do background research on the lives and works of said awardees and finalists nearest their area.
Interested bloggers must register at www.rafi.org.ph. Eligible to join are individuals who have an existing and updated blog for at least six months.
All blog entries for said contest must be original and written in English, with a minimum of 1,000 words and maximum of 4,000 words.
Blog entries shoulst not have been entered or won any previous competitions.
Writers must indicate the following at the end of their blog entries: "This is an official entry to the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) Triennial Awards Blogging Contest" with a link to the RAFI website.
Criteria for judging are 50 percent for content (originality and alignment to the theme and research value) and 50 percent for writing style or composition (including technicalities).
A contestant is allowed a maximum of three blogs that feature different awardees and finalists.
After posting their contest articles on their blogs, bloggers should email the application form, URL of the blog post and an electronic copy of at least one valid ID to: ellen.red@rafi.org.ph with the subject header: Entry to the RAFI Triennial Awards Blogging Contest.
Contest starts on Sept. 30, 2011 and deadline for the submission of blog entries is set on December 15, 2011.
Entrants must ensure that their blogs are accessible until winners are declared in January 2012.
First prize winner will receive Php 25,000 while second prize winner, Php 20,000, and third prize, Php 15,000.
All entries of winners and finalists will be consolidated and published into a book.
For more information on the RAFI Triennial Awards Blogging Contest and to check on the awardee or finalist nearest you, visit www.rafi.org.ph. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental with reports from RAFI)