Dumaguete’s Sandurot Festival sets to join Sinulog de Cebu
by Jennifer Catan-Tilos
DUMAGUETE CITY, Dec. 9 (PIA) Dumaguete City’s Sandurot Festival champion will participate in the 2012 grand Sinulog de Cebu in January in Cebu.
The Barangay Banilad contingent bested other barangays during the 63rd Dumaguete City fiesta Sandurot Festival as best in street dancing and showdown competition in November this year.
According to City Information Officer Steve Gabriel the Sandurot winner from barangay Banilad prepares to compete with other contingents next month in Cebu.
Gabriel said Sinulog Foundation Inc. (SFI) Executive Director Ricky Ballesteros has called the city to ask the confirmation for the participation of the Sandurot contingent to the Sinulog.
The Sandurot’s participation in Sinulog festival 2012 is part of Dumaguete City’s bid to promote tourism, he added.
Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria and Banilad barangay officials will lead the delegations from Dumaguete to boost the morale of participants.
The Sandurot contingent is expected to compose of more than 50 young male and female dancers.
Mayor Sagarbarria hopes the Banilad contingents will show the magnificent style in dancing that brings pride for the city, said Gabriel. (PIA/JCT)
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PHL, US sign ‘Partnership for Growth’
by Jennifer Catan-Tilos
DUMAGUETE CITY, Dec. 9 (PIA) The Philippines and the United States of America endorsed recently the Joint Statement of Principles on the Partnership for Growth (PFG) to hasten and sustain Philippine economic growth.
This agreement will put into practice the principles of President Obama’s September 2010 Presidential Policy Directive on Global Development. It involves rigorous joint analysis of constraints to growth, the development of joint action plans to address these constraints, and high-level mutual accountability for implementation, the US Embassy reported in a press statement.
Under this partnership, it aims to engage governments, the private sector and civil society with a broad range of tools to unlock new sources of investment, including domestic resources and foreign direct investment.
The PFG expects to improve coordination, leveraging private investment, and focusing political commitment throughout both governments, the Partnership for Growth enables partners to achieve better development results, it is said.
The Philippines is only one of four countries, and the only country in Asia, which was selected by the US to partner with it in this type of engagement for development. The others are Ghana, El Salvador, and Tanzania. (PIA/JCT)
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NISARD NegOr to join Negros Island Organic Farmers’ Festival
by Jennifer Catan-Tilos
DUMAGUETE CITY, Dec. 9 (PIA) The Negros Island Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (NISARD) Foundation, Inc, Negros Oriental has called on organic farmers in the province to participate in the 6th Negros Island Organic Farmers’ Festival on December 16 to 20 at the Provincial Capitol grounds in Bacolod City.
NISARD Administrator William Abay encourages agricultural sector in Negros Oriental to join the gathering of local organic farmers, producers and consumers, including chefs and restaurateurs for the exhibits and other activities.
Abay said some sugar planters group expects to display their sugar products during the event.
The festival also feature exhibits of organic, healthy, local and vegetarian food and eco-friendly products and technology; talks by nationally and internationally known experts on organic food production and business and related topics; and agri-tourism health and wellness fair.
This year’s organic festival is focused on providing more livelihood opportunities for small organic farmers as a means of alleviating poverty, it is said.
With the theme “One Food, One Life, One Island,” the five-day festival, expects more than 100 exhibitors from various organic groups around the country, showcasing organic, healthy, local and vegetarian food, and eco- friendly products and technology.
This annual exhibits for organic products in Negros started only in 2006 when the provincial government of Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental signed a memorandum of agreement to join hands to promote organic agriculture and make Negros Island the "Organic Food Bowl of Asia" and formally launch the 1st Negros Island Organic Farmers Festival the following year, it is said.
NISARD Foundation, Inc., is a foundation created by the two provincial governments of Negros Island to spearhead its organic farming movement. (PIA/JCT)
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Dumaguete City vet to host dog show, exhibition
By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, Dec. 8 (PIA) --- The city government of Dumaguete is inviting dog owners in the city to join the City Veterinarian Office’s dog show on December 11 at the Hypermart in Brgy. Bagacay.
Prizes worth more than P10,000 are up for grabs for winning dogs and their owners in various categories, said City Veterinarian Dr. Ma. Lourdes Socorro in a statement released by the Dumaguete City Information Office.
Registration for interested participants will start at 1:00 p.m.
The show is also held in cooperation with ALPO and Hypermart.
Socorro said the dog show aims to foster camaraderie among canine owners and lovers in the city while promoting responsible dog ownership under the Animal Welfare Act.
The dog show organizers will also share tips for owners on how to properly take care of their pets.
“Dog owners should be aware of their responsibilities to their pets, environment and community,” said Socorro.
The Animal Welfare Act or Republic Act No. 8485 was enacted in 1998 “to protect and promote the welfare of all animals in the Philippines by supervising and regulating the establishment and operations of all facilities utilized for breeding, maintaining, keeping, treating or training of all animals either as object of trade or as household pets.”
The dog show is in line with the anti-rabies prevention and control campaign by the city government and Negros Oriental provincial government to create a rabies-free zone here.
In a forum held early this year, Chief of Hospital Dr. Felix Sy urged local government units in the province to intensify their dog vaccination and responsible pet ownership campaigns.
“They should target to vaccinate at least 80 percent of the total dog population in their areas by the end of this year,” he said.
Being rabies-free is part of the goals outlined within the Millennium Development Goals, a set of time-bound development goals that 189 nations worldwide, including the Philippines, committed to achieve by 2015. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)