LGU-NGO holds first ‘Brigada Eskwela’ in Sogod, Cebu
By: Minerva BC Newman
Cebu, April 13 (PIA) – The local government unit of Sogod town in Cebu and a local NGO, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc (RAFI) initiated the first ‘Brigada Eskwela’ in Cabalawan Elementary School in Sogod, Cebu recently.
Through the School Rehabilitation Program of RAFI, it mobilizes a multi-sector volunteerism movement to raise awareness in the community by participating in the construction and rehabilitation of dilapidated classrooms.
Sogod mayor Lissa Marie Durano with the school teachers, parents, RAFI employees, Kaabag sa Sugbo members, Young Mind’s Academy scholars, and other volunteers in the community helped in the flooring and painting of the three-classroom Marcos-type school building of Cabalawan Elementary School.
RAFI’s executive director, Office of Humanitarian Relations and Services, Anthony Dignadice said, the foundation tries to involve the community and the LGUs for them to see and appreciate the interventions in education development.
“It is also one way of promoting resource mobilization and encouraging them to support the program,” Dignadice added.
According to Dignadice, RAFI provided the construction materials while the volunteers assisted in the manpower and labor resource and some LGUs with counterpart funds.
Sogod municipal engineer Rodney Menchavez saw the solid cooperation among the volunteers during the school rehab program brigade.
The efforts of the volunteers paid off as the rehabilitated Cabalawan Elementary School classrooms, with the five-classroom Bagong Lipunan building of Pansoy Elementary School, will be turned over to the DepEd anytime this month, Dignadice stated. (PIA-7/MBCN)
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DENR-7 gears for the National Greening Program
By Eli C. Dalumpines
By Eli C. Dalumpines
Cebu City, April 13 (PIA) – The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR-7) has started to mobilize its partner agencies including the private sector to ensure that the implementation of the National Greening Program will run smoothly.
Regional Technical Director for Technical Management Service Isabelo Montejo, in an AGIO forum this morning said, the DENR-7 has already met with around 16 national government agencies (NGAs) and local government units (LGUs) to initially discuss strategies in implementing the program.
Montejo said this is in line with Executive Order No. 26 signed by President Aquino on February 24, 2011 which mandated the DENR, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) to initiate programs that will consolidate and harmonize all greening programs of the government, including those initiated by LGUs.
This led to the implementation of NGP, which the Aquino government considered as a priority program to mitigate the impact of climate change while at the same time serves as a vehicle to reduce poverty and ensure resource protection and conservation, Montejo told the media.
At this stage, according to Montejo, his office is now preparing the seedlings which will be ready for planting this coming June.
In Central Visayas, DENR targets about 5,632 hectares for the program, Montejo added.
This will cover forestlands, mangrove areas, military reservations, urban areas under the greening plans of LGUs and abandoned mine sites.
DENR will tap students, government employees, the private sector as well as those considered as the “big polluters” such as the mining companies that have contributed greatly to environmental degradation Montejo said. (PIA -Cebu/ECD)
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2011 CEO EXCEL Awards now open for nomination
By: Minerva BC Newman
Cebu, April 13 (PIA) – The first International Association of Business Communicators (IABC)- Philippines chapter officially announces the opening of nominations for the 2011 Communication Excellence in Organizations (CEO) EXCEL Awards.
The CEO EXCEL Awards represents the highest individual standard of communication excellence for top level executives, movers and leaders.
IABC-Philippines confer this honor annually to the country’s CEOs, presidents, managing directors and top-level leaders for their exceptional and ethical use of communication strategies and tools in their management and leadership.
The CEO Excel Awards is the Philippine adaptation of the global EXCEL Award given by IABC to one outstanding CEO during the Annual IABC World Conference held every June in North America.
IABC-Philippines chairman, Elpi Cuna said, the award was primarily created to raise public awareness of the essential role of strategic and effective communication in today’s business management and organizational growth.
Deadline for nominations is on April 29, 2011. Early bird rate (up to April 8, 2011 only) is Php 8,960 for both IABC and non-IABC members. Regular rates are at Php 10,080 for IABC members and Php 11,200 for non-members.
IABC Philippines is the first International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) chapter established outside North America. IABC is one of the largest business communication organizations in the world with some 15,000 member-professionals in over 80 countries.
For more information, contact IABC Secretariat at 756-0424, 497-1450 and 756-0441 or email info@iabc.com.ph or visit www.iabc.com.ph. (PIA-7/mbcn)
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CWC holds Visayas cluster reg’l consultation in Cebu
(to come up with NPAC2)
By: Minerva BC Newman
Cebu City , April 13 (PIA) – The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) holds a 3-day Visayas cluster regional consultation workshop at the Golden Prince Hotel in Cebu City from April 13-15 to come out with a National Plan of Action for Children for 2011-2016.
CWC consultant, Regina Molera reported that the consultation aims to understand the legal framework for the development and enrichment of children’s rights and to come out with a National Plan of Action for Children for 2011-2016.
It also provides the regional dimension on the situation of children and women, data and challenges; agrees on the proposed general goals and strategies of the National Plan of Action for Children.
The consultation will also identify national policies and programs that can be regionalized and recommends mechanisms to strengthen the role of the CWC.
It also wants to recommend resource mobilization strategies and understand the inter-relationships of the various data sources and information mechanism for the monitoring system of children’s programs.
Lastly, the Visayas cluster consultation aims to identify regional research undertakings that will contribute to the national research agenda.
Participants to the consultation workshop are officials and representatives of agencies involved in the implementation of the UN-CRC and other programs and welfare services for children within regions 6, 7 and 8.
Molera in her presentation on the legal and policy frameworks for children reported that there is a need to define strategies to monitor children’s rights in pursuit to the policy agenda of both the public and private partnerships.
Molera continued that there is also a need to monitor the changes in the lives of children, program monitoring and child research agenda as well.
Molera also stated that the overarching goal of the plan is Child 21. Other policy framework such as the UN-CRC, MDG, WFFC and other laws serve as the blueprint in planning measures for all actions and programs for children in a long term basis and leads to the 2nd NPAC.
“These must be incorporated in the local action plan for children,” Molera added.
Molera said that the NPAC2 will be guided with the various policies, protocols and commitments to international treaties, agreements, laws and agenda for children.
In the final analysis, the NPAC2 must bind the state to fulfill its duties to promote the rights of children, provide welfare and services and promote and protect children’s health, development and growth. (PIA-7/MBCN)