Livelihood center for NegOr sugar workers to rise in Dumaguete
By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, June 9 (PIA) -- A livelihood training center that will benefit sugar workers and their families in Negros Oriental is set to be built in Dumaguete City.
This after the city government of Dumaguete, led by Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria, on Wednesday inked an agreement with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for the construction of the Negros Oriental Sugar Workers’ Livelihood Training Center.
DOLE Region 7 Director Atty. Ma. Gloria Tango signed the agreement in behalf of the labor department.
The center will sit on a 400-square meter area within the premises of the Dumaguete City High School.
The memorandum of agreement between DOLE and the city government is good for 25 years and renewable for another 25 years.
DOLE has allocated a total of P6 million for the construction of said center, taken from the Special Project Funds (SPF) from Unclaimed Cash Bonus Funds of sugar field workers.
The District Tripartite Councils (DTC) of the Central Azucarera de Bais (CAB) in Bais City, the Universal Robina Sugar Milling Corporation (URSUMCO) in Manjuyod town, and the Herminio Teves Company Inc. (HTCI) passed a resolution in March this year expressing their appreciation of Mayor Sagarbarria for “being instrumental in the fulfillment of the project.”
In 2009, the DTCs of CAB, URSUMCO, and HTCI requested the Sugar Tripartite Council to allocate P6.1 million for the construction of the livelihood training center here.
The center aims to offer skills trainings for sugar workers and their families to provide them with support livelihoods.
This is in line with the Social Alleviation Program in the Sugar Industry that intends to uplift the living conditions of sugar workers and their families. (RMN/PIA 7, Negros Oriental)
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Scientific paper of Silliman Univ students ranks fourth in int’l seminar
By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, June 9 (PIA) -- A student paper developed by eight students from Silliman University’s (SU) Medical Technology program was shortlisted for the Best Paper Presentation of an international scientific conference.
The research paper discussing the Philippine oysters’ absorptive capacity of sugar effluents at sea was ranked fourth among the top five scientific papers presented during the 2nd International Seminar and 12th Annual Scientific Conference of the Philippine Society for the Study of Nature.
The seminar was hosted by General Santos City from May 22 to 27.
The students bested 25 other entries in the undergraduate category of the Best Paper Presentation with their research entitled: ““Philippine Oyster Crassotrea Iredalei as a potential bioindicator of sugar effluents.”
In their paper, SU students Alfie Calingacion, Lordfrey Atay, Kriza Quiao, Abigail Buot, Justin Griño, Louie Cimafranca, Michael Briones and Giel Estrellado experimented with molasses to stimulate sugar wastes at sea in determining whether oysters can absorb the same, said Mark Raygan Garcia, director of SU’s Office of Information and Publication in a statement.
“Through a process of extraction, they were able to conclude the potential of oysters as indicator species that helps assess the volume of sugar waste and its concentration at sea, specifically in areas near sugarcane mills and plantations,” said Garcia.
Over 200 participants from Indonesia, China, Thailand, United States, and the Philippines attended in the seminar themed: “Crossing Borders for a Sustainable and Health Environment.” (RMN-PIA 7, Negros Oriental)
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NegOr exceeds seedlings requirement for this year’s NGP
By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, June 9 (PIA) -- The province of Negros Oriental have already surpassed the seedling requirement set by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for this year.
DENR set a 1.3 million seedling target for Negros Oriental for 2012.
To date, the province has already prepared about 1.9 million seedlings ready for planting in its National Greening Program (NGP) sites.
“This involves a total budget of about P18 million involving 30 people’s organizations here,” DENR Region 7 executive director Maximo Dichoso said about the massive undertaking.
The seedlings will be planted in the province’s target area of 2,619 hectares for this year, which is double than the 1,900 hectares set by DENR for the province last year.
The seedlings are from the more than 100 mother trees that were marked in the province’s seed production areas.
“We are ensuring that the seedlings being produced for our NGP planting must come from these mother trees in order to have high quality planting materials,” said Dichoso.
NGP’s national target last year was 100,000 hectares, and the number is hiked to 200,000 hectares this year.
Negros Oriental’s total land area covers 540,203 hectares, of which only 5.6 percent or 30,000 hectares are existing natural forest cover.
About 4.9 percent or 22,085 hectares of the total land area are plantation forest and man-made forest areas.
President Benigno Aquino III declared NGP as a government priority in Executive Order No. 26 with the goal of planting some 1.5 billion trees in about 1.5 million hectares across the country from 2011 to 2016. (RMN-PIA 7, Negros Oriental)
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NegOr LGUs to observe 114th Independence Day
By Jennifer C. Tilos
DUMAGUETE CITY, June 9 (PIA) -- A historian and Outstanding Teacher of the Philippines awardee will keynote the 114th celebration of Philippine independence in the town of Valencia on Tuesday.
Dr. T. Valentino Sitoy Jr, a former Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Graduate School of Central Visayas Polytechnic College now known as Negros Oriental State University (NORSU), will focus his speech on this year’s Independence theme celebration “Kalayaan: Pananagutan ng Bayan Para sa Tuwid Na Daan.”
The activity will start at 6:00 a.m. with a Holy Mass at the Our Lady of the Abandoned Parish and will be followed by a street parade around the Poblacion.
Valencia Mayor Ricky Gonzalez encouraged the public to join the town’s Independence Day celebration to show their love of country and to remember the courage and struggle of the Filipinos that lead to the birth of the nation.
Meanwhile, the local Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) of Negros Oriental enjoined the municipal and city mayors and barangay captains to conduct simple and fitting programs on the observance of this year’s 114th Anniversary of the Proclamation of the Philippine Independence Day on June 12.
In a memorandum circular, the local government unit is also requested to coordinate with the non-government and peoples organizations in conducting simultaneous Flag-Raising and Wreath-laying ceremonies in places of national significance in their respective areas of jurisdiction in the morning of June 12.
In Dumaguete City, volleys, taps and sounding of sirens, rigning of church bells, raising and waving of flaglets will be done simultaneously at exactly 7:00 a.m.
This will be followed by the floral offering at the foot of the Rizal Monument to be led by City Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria along with Vice-Mayor Alan Gel; Provincial Governor Roel Degamo, three district representatives, school officials and other non-government organizations and government agencies.
A short program will also be held which start with raising of Philippine Flag and signing of the Philippine National Anthem to be led by the NORSU Kabilin Band. (rmn/JCT-PIA 7, Negros Oriental)
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Greening project in NegOr has 90% survival rateChampion and model of NGP nationwide
By Rachelle M. Nessia
DUMAGUETE CITY, June 8 (PIA) -- A rising star in the national government’s ongoing efforts to revive the country's woodlands is a reforestation site in Ayungon town, Negros Oriental, which is being touted as a champion and model of the National Greening Program (NGP) implementation nationwide.
This after the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office I (CENRO I) based in Ayungon surpassed the expectations of environment officials in terms of community support and participation to the greening program.
Last year marked the first year of NGP implementation nationwide, with the goal of planting 1.5 billion trees in around 1.5 million hectares of public lands between 2011 to 2016.
According to CENRO I chief Charlie Fabre, about 2,000 hectares were planted with trees in his coverage area last year. This accounts for 30 percent of the 120 percent - or 7,000 hectares - accomplishment achieved by the four provinces in Region 7 under the NGP.
Ayungon’s reforestation site, which covers about 1,127 hectares, also attained a 90 percent survival rate with the trees that were planted last year, said Fabre.
This is lesser than the 20 percent allowed mortality rate for the NGP.
But it is the manner in which the program was carried out in Ayungon that made it stand out at the national level, according to Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Region 7 (DENR-7) Regional Executive Director Maximo Dichoso who described Ayungon’s success as “superb and excellent.”
CENRO I was able to convince the local government officials down to the barangay level, people’s organizations, and upland dwellers to pitch in their full support for the greening program in Ayungon.
The CENRO chief said that the national DENR officials were impressed how the community willingly maintained the plantations on their own.
“The community saw for themselves that they were able to harvest from the trees that they planted, so they focused on the sustainability of the project,” said Fabre.
Despite the national attention Ayungon and CENRO I are receiving from their NGP implementation, Fabre said he does not yet consider the project a success.
He explained that under the NGP, endemic trees were planted within the identified protection areas in the Ayungon reforestation site, and fast-growing trees, mostly acacia, in the production areas.
Fabre said they discovered that acacia trees are ideal in wiping out kugon, a tall, perennial grass commonly used in thatching and which quickly catches fire. “The problem faced by reforestation sites is the threat of fires,” he explained.
Acacia trees are among the fastest growing trees as it takes only three years to grow. “So in a short period of time, we expect that there will be no more kugon shrubs in the plantations, and only then will we consider the project to be a success,” stressed Fabre.
Aside from Ayungon, CENRO I is also growing trees in a 730-hectare site in Bindoy town under the NGP.
Fabre said his office is focusing NGP’s implementation in the two municipalities so the project’s impact can easily be seen, a move that the DENR national office is also adopting. “For every region, there should be one or two model sites that are contiguous,” said Fabre.
The success of the Ayungon greening site has attracted visitors from all parts of the country who are drawn to what may also be considered a success story in Public Private Partnership.
“Every week, we have visitors in Ayungon. Some are as far as Mindanao to learn how we are implementing the project,” said Fabre.
Some of the visitors are officials who wish to replicate Ayungon’s success in their respective areas.
Dichoso added that Fabre has also been invited to talk in NGP discussions around the country to share how his office was able to elicit the cooperation of the LGUs and the private sector in implementing the greening program.
The province’s target area for this year under the NGP is doubled from 1,900 hectares last year to 2,619 hectares, with a seedling requirement of more than 1.3 million seedlings.
But local environment officials are confident that the province will once again be in the spotlight as it has already surpassed the seedling requirement.
“To date, the province of Negros Oriental has already prepared about 1.9 million seedlings ready for planting, with a total of budget of about P18 million involving 30 people’s organizations,” reported Dichoso during an environmental forum held in Dumaguete City.
The seedlings were from the more than 100 mother trees that were marked in the province’s seed production areas.
“We are ensuring that the seedlings being produced for our NGP planting must come from these mother trees in order to have high quality planting materials,” said Dichoso.
NGP’s national target last year was 100,000 hectares, and the number was hiked to 200,000 hectares this year.
Dichoso assured that the project will be a success if the community continues to participate in it.
“The program is gaining momentum in terms of area hectarage until 2016. We will continue to need the active involvement of the people’s organizations, private partners in the greening industry, and the non-government organizations engaged in the protection and involvement of the environment,” he said. (RMN/PIA Negros Oriental)
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Growing demand for fiber expands abaca plantation
By Jennifer C. Tilos
DUMAGUETE CITY, June 8 (PIA) -- The Fiber Industry Development Authority (FIDA) has intensified abaca production with additional 100 hectares of abaca plantations in Sta. Catalina town, Negros Oriental, to meet the growing demand for natural fiber in the national as well as international market.
Provincial Fiber Officer Nena Locsin of FIDA said some P3.2 million was allocated from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ convergence fund to increase area production of quality abaca fiber.
Locsin said some pending orders are awaiting but local fiber producers cannot cope with the market demand.
However, for now, Locsin said FIDA is in the process of training abaca farmers and more "sinamay" weavers to upgrade their skills in the production of high-value abaca products.
With the funding assistance of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), a group of weavers in barangay San Antonio, Sibulan town underwent sinamay weaving training.
Aside from their skills in weaving, the group also undertook a series of trainings for handloom weaving, dyeing, and processing.
FIDA reported that despite threats of abaca disease, abaca production last year in the province reached P30.38 million of sinamay, abaca and salago fibers sales.
The province shipped out more than 500 metric tons of high grade and loose abaca fiber to various businesses, Locsin said.
However, Locsin also reported lately that some abaca plantation have been damaged by bunchy top, tract mosaic, and abaca mosaic diseases due to improper cutting of the plant by some farmers.
Although some mosaic infestation is being contained, the Provincial Agriculturist Office advised to utilize its “Bantay Peste” trained farmers to assist on the elimination of the particular pests in the area.(mbcn/JCT/PIA-Negros Oriental)