MGB-7 warns the public on hazards brought by wet season
By Hazel F. Gloria
CEBU CITY, June 7 (PIA) -- The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) in Region 7 has warned anew on the possibility of landslides and flooding as a result of the upcoming “wet” season, which brings more rains and a low pressure area (LPA).
MGB-7 Regional Director Loreto Alburo made the call in wake of reports by the weather bureau that heavier rains are still expected despite the departure of typhoon “Ambo.”
At present, MGB-7 identified portions of nearly 80 barangays within Cebu province to be highly vulnerable to episodes of ground failure or subsidence and flood.
In Cebu City, 19 of the 80 barangays were tagged with high susceptibility to landslides.
“It is highly important that local chief executives and the communities themselves to be always ready and should pay attention of critical areas which have been known to them as indicated in the geohazards threat advisory issued to them,” he stressed.
Alburo strongly recommended to local chief executives to prohibit habitation in areas declared as “highly susceptible” to flooding and landslides by the MGB-7 to protect people’s lives and pieces of property.
To facilitate easy access of the geohazards maps, the said maps in a 1:50,000 scale are now available and downloadable in four government websites, including that of a non-government organization.
The government websites hosting the interactive geohazard maps include that of the DENR (www.denr.gov.ph), Mines and Geosciences Bureau (www.mgb.gov.ph), Philippine Information Agency (www.pia.gov.ph), and that of Environmental Science for Social Change (www.essc.org.ph).
Geohazard mapping identifies various geologic features and hazards associated to these geologic features. It also determines possible settlement sites, properties and infrastructures to be affected. It pursues the identification of susceptible areas to floods, landslides, liquefaction and other ground instabilities such as vulnerabilities to earthquakes.(PIA-7/HFG/DENR-7)
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DepEd 7 trains over 600 private teachers in C. Visayas for K to 12
By Juju Manubag-Empuerto
CEBU CITY, June 7 (PIA) -- Slightly over 600 private school teachers in Central Visayas are currently undergoing a weeklong training on the K to 12 Basic Education Curriculum at different venues in Cebu City.
Dep Ed-7 Chief of the Administrative Division Eda S. Cabantan bared that the training started last Monday and will end on Friday. Participants to the training include 234 Grade 1 teachers and 369 Grade 7 teachers in private schools throughout the region.
The training and workshop will tackle, among others, the K to 12 curriculum; implementing guidelines of the elementary curriculum; championing change; science concepts integration; mother tongue; domains for each language and standards at the end of Grades 1 and 3; K to 12 lesson planning; micro teaching; and teaching guides and pupil activity sheets in learning areas of Health, Math, English, Filipino, Arts, Music, and Physical Education, disclosed Cabantan.
Identified training centers in the region for the Grade 7 level will be with their partner Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) such as the Cebu Normal University (CNU) and the Cebu Technnological University (CTU) in Cebu Citry, while the Grade 1 level trainers training will take place at different division’s training centers, added the DepEd official.
The breakdown of the 369 Grade 7 teachers with the corresponding areas of specialization are: 56 in Science; 41 in Music, Arts, Physical Education & Health (MAPEH); 61 in Math; 56 in English; 30 in Filipino/Applied Nutrition; 27 in Values; 30 in Araling Panlipunan; and 68 in Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) subjects.
The DepEd official said that the revised curriculum will also be introduced to incoming high school freshmen or the Grade 7 students this school year.
Based on the curriculum guide, Grade 7 will have the same subjects as in Grade 1, minus the Mother Tongue subject, since this will be offered from Grades 1 to 3 only.
The high school freshmen on the other hand, will have the Technology and Livelihood Education (TLE) subject, which will offer various skills-enhancing topics for the entire high school level, this is said.
Cabantan added the K to 12 Program will add two more years in the high school level. The additional two-years will offer students subjects or electives that will offer specialization skills depending on the occupation or career track the students wish to pursue.
The DepEd 7 official, however, said that the incoming 2nd to 4th year high school students will not be included in the additional two years. (FCR/JSME/PIA 7-Cebu)
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DOLE-7 conducts leadership and management skills enhancement workshop
By Hazel F. Gloria
Cebu City, June 7 (PIA) -- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Region 7 conducted a two-day leadership and management skills enhancement seminar workshop at the Bayawan City Integrated Training Center, Bayawan City last May 22 and 23.
DOLE-7 Regional Director Ma. Gloria Tango said the training was designed to enhance the skills of rural workers to effectively manage their organization and projects.
A total of 45 leaders from the various organizations joined the enhancement workshop.
The following associations are the Rural Improvement Club (RIC) of Poblacion Chapter, Baisan Chapter, Kalumbayan Chapter, San Roque Chapter, Kambulo Chapter, Palongpong Narra Chapter, Tayawan Water System Association, Pagatban United Small Fishermen Association, Bayawan Pedicab Driver and Operator Association, and San Roque Small Farmers Association.
Tango also announced with the strong partnership of Bayawan Public Employment Service Office (PESO), headed by Emma D. Dael, they were able to save P40,000,00 with the expenses. PESO in Bayawan helped them shouldered the payment of the workshop.
“We are grateful to our partner LGU and PESO in Bayawan City for paying the bills of this training and helping these marginalized sector of society upgrade their existing skills and, hopefully, transform their groups as vital link of DOLE in delivering its services to the people,” Tango said.
“With workers education intervention, we expect more farmers, fishermen, and other workers from the informal sector to lead their group effectively; and to become our Accredited Co-Partner,” Tango concluded.(rmn/PIA-7/HFG/DOLE-7)
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Cebu to showcase organic farming products
By Amorganda A. Saludar
CEBU CITY, June 6 (PIA) -- Different variants of organic rice will be showcased in Cebu during the 2nd Visayas and Mindanao Fruit and Vegetables Market and Encounter and Trade Exhibit at SM City Cebu on June 8 to 10, 2012.
The exhibit is conducted in partnership with the Department of Agriculture (DA) 7 and 12 and private cooperatives.
There will be at least six variants of organic rice expected to be displayed at SM along with other organic farming products from Region 12 that are seen to boost and soon to level with the traditional or conventional farming method.
Organic rice that will be displayed during the exhibit is a product of BIOS Dynamis, a certified organic rice producer and trader cooperative that ensures that rice products undergo strict monitoring to ensure that only natural farming inputs are used in its production without the use of synthetic, chemicals pesticides, and fertilizers.
The said cooperative has been awarded Third Party Organic Certification by the Organic Certification Center of the Philippines (OCCP), and is the first group to export organic rice in Germany and working to export the same product in Europe.
Romano S. Laurilla of BIOS Dynamis in a recent Kapihan sa PIA forum stressed that it is their aim that Filipinos be the first to taste these products from the organic farmers specifically from Region 12 wherein 20 percent of the farmers are already practicing organic farming method.
This prompted them to come up with initiatives like the exhibit, which would provide an avenue to showcase organic farming products and rice specifically.
“The main aim really is that the Filipinos should be the first to taste the products out of organic farming and Cebu as an importing province we are expecting to find market here,” Laurilla said.
DA 7 is also pushing organic farming because of its benefits and advantages that can be given to the people.
Laurilla said that because no chemicals are involved in organic farming, consumers are assured that the products out of organic farming are purely in its natural state, which is good for health, while the fertility of the soil is not affected since chemicals are not mixed with the soil.
He also admitted that at present, prices of organic farming products are still high in the market. However, he stressed that initiatives such as the exhibit are being implemented to make the products more popular to the consuming public to encourage higher demand for organic products thereby lowering its cost. (rmn/AS/PIA 7, CEBU)
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Climate change caused Cebu LGU hailstorm - PAGASA Chief
By Amorganda A. Saludar
CEBU CITY, June 7 (PIA) --Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Mactan Cebu chief Oscar Tabada said climate change is a factor that might have caused the hail that struck the town of Pinamungahan recently.
On a warm, sunny day of May 17 this year, residents of Barangay Lamac, Pinamungahan, Cebu were shocked due to the strange occurrence of what was initially believed to be a hailstorm that destroyed houses and other properties of some people living in the area.
“It was hail, not storm, since ice eventually fell on land. This can be experienced in a thunderstorm cloud or technically, in cumulonimbus clouds. Hazards inside that clouds are storm, heavy rainfall, hail, and tornado,” Pag-asa Mactan Cebu chief Oscar Tabada said during the May 26 episode of "Pagtuki," the official radio program of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.
Tabada stressed that climate change is a possible factor behind the strange incident, saying that “because the ozone layer is now very thin, sunrays are very hot."
He explained: "When the earth warms, many thunderstorm clouds will be formed. When warm air reaches the atmosphere, cumulus clouds will form and later on, thunder, storm, and rain will appear."
In places like Pinamungahan and Asturias, the cloud base is low since they are in the highlands, so ice did not completely melt and when thunderstorm clouds are near land areas, ice cannot completely melt, so rain takes the form of ice. Mostly in tropical regions like the Philippines, the base of clouds is very high, according to the PAGASA chief.
Way back in 1980, Asturias town, southwest of Cebu, also experienced the said phenomenon making the recent hail in Pinamungahan as the second occurrence here in Cebu.
Tabada also pointed out that the Philippines has been experiencing the effects of climate change-cold front that brings cold air in Northern Luzon is now in the Visayas for three years and the intertropical convergence zone that is supposed to be in Mindanao is now in the equator. These have become a big dilemma to the country's farmers.
“We are the main contributors of this predicament. We need to be awakened, be responsible. We have to mitigate. Let us plan for the worst scenario and save for the best. Let us adapt the environmental changes and plant more trees for us to sustain water,” he said.
"Pagtuki" is aired over DYLA every Saturday at 10 to 11 a.m. The program tackles timely and relevant issues affecting the Cebuano community. (rmn/AS/PIA-7,CEBU with PR from RAFI)
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Cebu hosts 2nd Fruits, Veggies Market & Trade ExhibitFarmers, producers earned P70M a month after 1st fruits, veggies exhibit
By Fayette C. Ri�en
CEBU CITY, June 7 (PIA) -- Agri-products from South Cotabato in Mindanao will be showcased in Cebu City as the three-day "2nd Visayas-Mindanao Fruits and Vegetable Market Encounter and Trade Exhibit" kicks off this Friday, June 8.
The activity aims to provide a venue for producers and traders of fruits, vegetables, processed products, tuna, and rice in South Cotabato to link with institutional market buyers here, said Cris Lucero, chief of the Agri-business Division of the Department of Agriculture (DA) 7.
“Cebu and the rest of Central Visayas are importing 60 to 70 percent of their fruits and vegetables supply from Mindanao,” said Lucero during this morning’s Kapihan sa PIA that mainly featured the upcoming event.
Lucero said there is an essential need to link the farmers and producers with the market buyers to ensure the economic growth of the agri-industry.
Bai Dido Sum Ama, Lucero’s counterpart in DA-12 said there are around 30 exhibitors from their region that will participate in the three-day market and trade fair.
“We are hoping that after the activity, our farmers and producers in South Cotabato will have Cebu as one of their main markets for their produce,” said Ama.
Mindanao is dubbed as the country’s food basket as Lucero stressed it is part of the DA’s mandate to assist in the marketing opportunities for our agri-farmers and producers in order to sustain the economic growth of the industry.
Romano Laurilla, one of the exhibitors that will display their various organic rice products expressed optimism that they can tap Cebu as one of their main markets.
“Our organic rice products are already being shipped to Manila. And we are proud to say that we are the first cooperative in the country that is exporting certified organic rice to Germany,” stressed Laurilla.
Laurilla represented the Bios Dynamics Cooperative from South Cotabato whose organic rice products are available in variants such as black, lilac, red, pink, brown, and white.
Ama said among the agri-products on display at the trade exhibit are fresh fruits and vegetables, processed fruits and products, tuna, rice, and even herbal tonic mangosteen.
The three-day activity is a collaborative effort by the DA regional offices 7 and 12 and the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) Program funded by the USAID.
Last year, Cebu also hosted the 1st Vis-Min Fruits and Vegetable Market Encounter, but this year, it will be the first time that the activity will showcase agri-products from Mindanao.
Lucero said last year’s activity was able to create new market linkages between buyers and farmers and producers in the entire Visayas and Mindanao.
“Farmers, producers and traders were able to earn around P70 million a month after the 1st Vis-Min agri-business event in Cebu and we want to do the same for the South Cotabato farmers and producers this year,” claimed Lucero. (PIA-Cebu)
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MGB-7 urges public to be informed amidst disaster threat
By Amorganda A. Saludar
CEBU CITY, June 7 (PIA) -- The Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 has called on the public to be vigilant in monitoring news and information about weather and environment conditions so they will be prepared for emergency situations should floods and landslides strike.
The bureau issued the call in view of ongoing occurrence of heavy rains especially in areas susceptible to natural disasters.
MGB-7 Chief Geologist, Al Emil Berador also urged the public to be up to date with the news and current events in their areas as part of their individual disaster preparedness measures to lessen the risks on their lives brought by the threat of calamities and extreme climate change.
“Citizenry should have this habit of listening news as part of disaster preparedness to lessen risks and as usual listen and attend to forums so that they will be informed ahead like for heavy rains in a specific area,” Berador said.
He also advise the public to secure items that will be useful to them in times of disasters whether natural or man-made.
“Secure things for emergency like drinkable water, flashlights, medicines, food and other useful and important things and always look for evacuation center in case of floods and landslides,” Berador stressed.
This came after the MGB here in the region were able to identify portions of nearly 80 barangays in the province of Cebu to be susceptible to ground failure and flood.
Of the total, Cebu City alone has 19 barangays that were rated as high susceptible to landslides. (RMN/AS-PIA7 Cebu)
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BFAR-7 creates QRT to control illegal fishing practice
By Amorganda A. Saludar
CEBU CITY June 7 (PIA) -- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR-7) in Central Visayas created a nine–member Quick Response Team (QRT) in line with the intensified goal of the government to eradicate illegal fishing activities in the country.
Effective June 1 this year, the team started their 24/7 task of going after illegal fishers in an effort to abolish the illegal fishing practices.
The team is joining forces with other law enforcement agencies like the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Local Government Units (LGUs) as well as other fishery and environmental law enforcement agencies so as to lessen and control illegal fishing and fishery activities that threaten the source of income of the fishing communities.
The QRT also aim to intensify and to strictly follow the directive issued by BFAR Director Asis G. Perez calling for sea protection and the implementation of measures to make sure that the people will have the full benefits of the marine resources without harming its natural condition.
In particular, the team will implement the “market denial” strategy that prohibits fish stocks caught using illegal forms such as dynamite and cyanide to be sold in the markets.
On June 11 to 20, the QRT will undergo Capability Building and Skills Training on Fishery Protection and Law Enforcement in which, part two of the training deals on Tactical Aspect focuses on Gun Handling and Safety to be hosted by BFAR from Central Visayas.
Under the supervision of BFAR 7 Regional Director Andres M. Bojos, the QRT which is composed of five (5) licensed Criminologists, two (2) licensed Fishery Technologists, one (1) Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, and one (1) LLB graduate, will be on board M/V DA-BFAR for a week to get offshore and fisheries trainings, researches, experiments, oceanographic studies, and exploration. (RMN/AS/PIA-7, CEBU with Marven E. Triambulo of BFAR-7)