DENR 7 bares list of landslide-prone brgys in Cebu City
By Fayette C. Ri�en
CEBU CITY, April 21 (PIA) -- The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 has coordinated with barangay officials of five upland barangays in Cebu City that are landslide-prone for them to institute the necessary measures on disaster risk mitigation.
Al Emil G. Berador, chief geologist of the DENR 7, said these barangays whose portions of some areas are at high risks to landslides are Siraw, Sibugay, Malubog, Binaliw and its adjacent barangay.
“We already conducted an assessment on these barangays and we found that they are highly susceptible to landslides. We also informed the respective barangay leaders so they could prepare and act on the matter,” said Berador.
The geohazard map conducted by the Mines and Geosciences Bureau contained information on the level of susceptibility of areas to flooding and landslides, including the areas that could possibly be used as relocation or evacuation sites, in case of emergency, Berador said.
"Landslide incidence particularly in mountain barangays of Cebu City is highly increasing," stressed Berador.
Berador said the causes of landslides are usually related to instabilities in slope.
Factors behind landslides are geological, morphological, physical, and factors associated with human activity, said the DENR 7 chief geologist.
According to Berador, there are two types of mitigating information namely the structural which is the engineering intervention that change steep slopes into gentle slopes and the non-structural which is the zoning of a certain area to prevent the people to build houses.
"In identified areas prone to landslides, people should not be allowed to build houses for their own safety", Berador emphasized. (FCR/Clara Jane Ayson, CNU Intern/PIA-CEBU)
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PNoy lauds electronics sector for over.5-M jobsgov't to help workers move up the value chain
By Fayette C. Ri�en
CEBU CITY, April 20 (PIA) -- President Benigno S. Aquino III expressed gratitude to the multinational electronics firms based in the Philippines for the over 500,000 direct jobs given to Filipinos despite the economic downturn last year.
Speaking before more than 200 business leaders of the semiconductor and electronics industry this afternoon during the 17th World Electronics Forum (WEF) in Shangri-la Mactan Island Resort in Lapulapu City, Cebu, Aquino said the employment generation of the sector even grew by six (6) percent last year compared to the previous year despite the global economic slowdown.
“I am told that direct employment in the industry grew by six percent, from 500,000 in 2010 to 530,000 in 2011. This is an encouraging sign,” Aquino quoted.
The semiconductor and electronics sector accounts for an average of 65 percent of the country’s total exports, which dropped to 50 percent last year due to the financial slump worldwide, this is said.
“This contributed to the decline in total merchandise exports, which pulled down the 2011 GDP growth rate by an estimated 2.2 percentage points. Despite this, your industry was able to hire even more Filipino workers,” Aquino bared.
The President added that targeting systems are in place to enable the workforce to supply more specialists to industries that demand them.
“In fact, we have earmarked P50 million, through TESDA’s Training for Work Scholarship Program, to train 9,295 of your industry workers, and I am taking this opportunity to thank SEIPI for partnering with government through a memorandum of agreement for this effort,” the President said.
Educational reforms being implemented are designed to move Filipino workers higher up the value chain as Aquino cited the K-12 system, set to begin this June, as a long-term solution that can address the students’ global competitiveness.
As infrastructure is seen to improve in the coming years, Aquino said this would be easier for the industry to expand their businesses which he added goes hand-in-hand with the administration’s efforts to reform the bureaucracy.
“We are, however, building on initiatives that will allow the Philippines to compete more strongly in the global markets. As you may well know, we are already offering competitive incentives to electronic firms registered with investment promotion agencies,” disclosed the President.
Inclusive growth, job generation, empowered enterprises and solid investor confidence are pillars cited by Pres. Aquino in his administration’s economic agenda that are built through good governance and by setting a good example.
“My government is determined to meet any challenge that might arise in your industry with equal resilience and equal fervor. You can continue to count on my administration's active support for the semiconductor and electronics industries,” Aquino ended his nine-minute speech which drew applause from the crowd. (PIA-Cebu)