Veggies help boost immunity, fight diseases
By Fayette C. Ri�en
CEBU CITY, July 5 (PIA) -- Eating vegetables regularly leads to better immunity and prevents the development of non-communicable diseases.
National Nutrition Council (NNC) 7 Chief Parolita Mission said vegetables and fruits are rich sources of fiber needed to cleanse the gastro-intestinal tract through regular bowel movements preventing constipation.
According to Mission, diet rich in fiber helps prevent colon cancer although there are other risk factors involved in the development of this type of cancer. Vegetables and fruits with their lesser calorie contents help prevent diabetes as well as cardiovascular diseases.
“Development of non-communicable diseases can easily be thwarted with a strong immune system through healthy diet,” said Mission.
We need to educate the young of the importance of eating vegetables and fruits as this can help not only in the physical development of a child but their mental growth as well, added the NNC 7 chief.
Most children have Iron and Vitamin A deficiencies which can be sourced from vegetables.
While Mission lauded the efforts of some food manufacturers who fortified their products with micronutrients, she cautioned the public to carefully check whether the product has the ‘Sangkap Pinoy’ seal of the Department of Health (DOH).
This seal means the product has been checked by the Food and Drug Administration for the appropriate micronutrient content.
Mission however said, nothing beats the nutrients taken from fresh vegetables. (FCR-PIA7 Cebu)
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Cebu LGUs, private foundation to rehab decrepit schools
By Amorganda A. Saludar
CEBU CITY, July 5 (PIA) -- Two mayors from Tuburan and Asturias in northwest Cebu as well as the school heads of eight beneficiary schools in both towns inked an agreement with a private foundation to have decrepit schools rehabilitated.
The memorandum of agreement was signed last June 13 at the Eduardo Aboitiz Studies Center in Cebu City.
The eight school-beneficiaries in said towns are the second batch of recipients of the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Incorporated's (RAFI) School Rehabilitation Program or SRP now on its third phase. The program involves the repair of 28 classrooms that will start this month.
Around 1,260 schoolchildren will benefit from the repaired structures.
RAFI allocated P 8.2 million for the major repair and rehabilitation. The school-recipients are: Asturias Central School, Agbanga Primary School, Agtugop Elementary School, Tag-amakan Elementary School, Sandayong Elementary School, Carmelo Elementary School, Daan Lungsod Elementary School, and Tuburan Central School.
As for their part, the local government units (LGUs) of Asturias and Tuburan will shoulder the 30 percent of labor costs. Included in the agreement is the commitment of both towns to provide the fund of not less than P10,000 for the establishment of an Indigenous Tree Nursery in each school.
“I am so happy that our two schools are included in this batch. For me, applying for this project is very risky but because of the support from the LGU and parents, I managed to pursue my application for school repair knowing that this project is for the benefit of our children,” Eliseo Leones Jr., school head of Agtugop and Agbanga Elementary Schools, said.
Asturias mayor Alan Adlawan, whose town was a program beneficiary since 2009 said the program really spurred the school-beneficiaries to improve their performance.
“Repairing school buildings is just one part of improving the quality of education. We always would like to be a part of this program. It’s more of a challenge for us. Every time RAFI repairs schools in Asturias, we are challenged to perform well,” Adlawan said.
The Foundation aims not just to change the physical condition of schools but to enhance the quality of learning and teaching inside the classroom as well.
“The classroom is a child's home away from home. It is where students spend most of their day and where much of their development occurs. When children and teachers feel physically safe and comfortable in their classrooms, they are motivated to come to school and are able to focus their attention on their central task: teaching and learning," Amaya Cristina Aboitiz, deputy director for operations of RAFI, explained.
"Through the School Rehabilitation Program, RAFI seeks to provide students and teachers with conducive learning environment. We hope that this investment, together with the continued work and support of the teachers and parents, will lead to improved student attendance, motivation, and achievement,” Aboitiz added.
Since 2004, the SRP has repaired and turned over 458 classrooms in 136 public elementary schools in 36 municipalities of Cebu.
The SRP is a program under the Education focus area of RAFI, believing that shaping the next generation of talents begins with nurturing the love for learning. Other focus areas of RAFI are integrated development, micro-finance & entrepreneurship, culture & heritage and leadership & citizenship.
For further information about RAFI's school rehabilitation program, call 418-7234 loc. 205 and look for Jicel Reve Gabriel or visit their website: www.rafi.org.ph. (FCR/AYS/RAFI PR-PIA7 CEBU)
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Employed sector’s contributions to increase by Jan. 2013 -Philhealth
By Juju Manubag-Empuerto
CEBU CITY, July 5 (PIA) -- To help attain the country's Universal Health Care and Millennium Development Goals’ (MDGs) health targets by 2015, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) will increase premium contributions of the employed sector in January next year.
PhilHealth Circular No. 011-2012 prescribes a new premium contributions schedule for the formal sector employees and their employers to be computed at three percent of the basic monthly salary of the employee effective January 1, 2013.
Employees with monthly salary base of P7,000 and below will have a minimum annual contribution of P2,520 which will be equally shared by the employee and employer.
For employees receiving salary of P7,000 and above, the three percent contribution of the salary will be shared equally by the employee and employer at 1.5 percent each.
The monthly salary ceiling is determined at P50,000. This means that for those earning a monthly salary of P50,000 above, the P1,500 monthly premium rate will be equally shared by the employee and employer at P750 each..
PhilHealth also reminded employers to remit the monthly premium contributions on or before the 10th day of the following applicable month at the Cebu regional office- collection section. For queries, the PhilHealth office numbers are 2333284 or 2333270 local 5522/5527 and look for Tiffany Aislinn Songco and Wendy Mellina.
To enable timely posting of contributions and ensure availment of services in times of need, employers are encouraged to use the Electronic Premium and Reporting System (EPRS), a web-based and user friendly application that allows preparation and submission of premium remittance reports online.
The failure of the employer to remit required contribution and to submit the required remittance list will make the employer liable for reimbursement of payment of a properly filed claim in case the concerned employee or its qualified dependents avail of the benefits of PhilHealth without prejudice to the imposition of other penalties, the circular stated.
PhilHealth’s mandate of providing true financial risk protection to all Filipinos is articulated to its battlecry, “Bawat Pilipino miyembro. Bawat miyembro, protektado. Kalusugan natin sigurado”. (FCR/JSME-PIA7 Cebu).