Iloilo City News August 2018

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Dietary supplement is a product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.

Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded. That means that these firms are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all the requirements of DSHEA and FDA regulations.

Wars of ancient history were about possessions, territory, power, control, family, betrayal, lover's quarrel, politics and sometimes religion.

But we are in the Modern era and supposedly more educated and enlightened .

Think about this. Don't just brush off these questions.

  • Why is RELIGION still involved in WARS? Isn't religion supposed to be about PEACE?
  • Ask yourself; What religion always campaign to have its religious laws be accepted as government laws, always involved in wars and consistently causing WARS, yet insists that it's a religion of peace?

WHY??

There are only two kinds of people who teach tolerance:
  1. The Bullies. They want you to tolerate them so they can continue to maliciously deprive you. Do not believe these bullies teaching tolerance, saying that it’s the path to prevent hatred and prejudice.
  2. The victims who are waiting for the right moment to retaliate. They can’t win yet, so they tolerate.

ASEAN anti-smoking campaign to highlight Iloilo City practices

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- Iloilo City’s best anti-smoking practices will be highlighted in the health communication campaign of the Vital Strategies, formerly World Lung Foundation, a non-governmental organization helping the city government here in its anti-smoking initiatives.

“The challenge is to come up with a seven-minute video highlighting the city and its stand on anti-smoking preferably geared towards the youth,” said Iñigo Garingalao, executive director of the Iloilo City Anti-Smoking Task Force, in an interview on Wednesday.

The best practices will be produced in three phases; the last production will be during the “Iloilo City Anti-Smoking ASEAN Reach Out” on Aug. 22 under the "They Lie We Die" campaign that started in Singapore.

It will be joined by some 1,000 students from eight big schools in this city. It will also be participated in by call center agents, Regional Tobacco Network, Philippine National Police, and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, a Red Orchid Awardee for the government offices category.

The Department of Health’s Red Orchid Award is an annual search for the 100 percent Tobacco-Free Environment covering government workplaces, hospitals, and local government units.

Bearing anti-smoking placards, participants will parade from the Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) towards the monument of Gen. Martin Delgado at the Festive Walk. Upon reaching the monument, they will be doing a "They Lie We Die" flash mob in front of the giant tarpaulin wall.

The flash mob video will be integrated with two other videos -- the first is an interview with the mayor while the second is about the situation before and the intervention that was done by the local government.

“Vital Strategies, formerly the World Lung Foundation, will use it in their stint in Southeast Asian countries. That is why we call it Southeast Asian reach out,” he said.

The flash mob will also be done in the cities of Baguio and General Santos.

City hall services now more accessible thru ‘Pag-ulikid’

(Panay News)

ILOILO City – Not everybody has the wherewithal to go to the city hall in the City Proper to avail themselves of city government services, especially those in far-flung barangays. The Pag-ulikid sang Syudad, Pag-ulikid ni Mayor program addresses this concern.

For two consecutive days (Aug. 10 and 11), this community outreach program designed by Mayor Jose Espinosa III served over 24,000 residents in the districts of Jaro and Arevalo.

In Jaro’s Barangay Lanit on Aug. 10, villagers benefited from free medical checkup, tooth extraction and circumcision.

This was the first time in the city’s history that city hall services were directly brought to the people, according to City Administrator Hernando Galvez.

Those from the neighboring villages of Tagbak, Camalig and Buntatala also partook of these city government services and more – anti-rabies vaccination of pets such as dogs, free processing of identification cards for senior citizens, and processing of birth certificates and/or correction of erroneous entries in the birth certificates.

On the other hand, persons with disabilities were given wheelchairs while the youth received sports equipment.

One of those grateful beneficiaries was a Barangay Lanit mother of three children, one of whom was suffering from cerebral palsy.

The mother wanted to work so she could augment the family’s daily income (her husband was a tricycle driver) but she had no one to entrust her third child who had cerebral palsy.

The free wheelchair given her would be of great help, said the mother. She would not have to carry her child in her arms all the time, she explained, thereby giving her the opportunity to do other tasks.

Over 3,500 persons from the four Jaro barangays availed themselves of free city government services.

Because Jaro was such a wide district, a separate wave of Pag-ulikid was conducted that same day in the village of Bitoon.

Those from the neighboring village of Balabago also came over for free city government services.

Overall, more than 4,500 residents of barangays Bitoon and Balabago were served.

Mayor Espinosa said “Pag-ulikid” is basically letting the people feel that the government is working for them.

From Jaro, the city government’s Pag-ulikid team proceeded on Barangay Santo Nino Sur, Arevalo district on Aug. 10, serving over 7,000 more Ilonggos.

Those from the neighboring villages of Sto. Domingo, Mohon, Sta. Cruz, and Bonifacio also flocked to Barangay Santo Niño Sur to avail themselves of free city government services.

The following day, Aug. 11, the Pag-ulikid team returned to Arevalo, but this time serving the residents of Calaparan, Calumpang, Yulo Drive, Santo Niño Norte, Dulonan, Santa Felomina, and San Jose.

Espinosa thought of this program after an encounter with a senior citizen who, because of old age, could not personally go to city hall to secure an identification card.

Iloilo City mulls sister city ties with Italian City

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- This highly-urbanized city is again considering to forge a sister city agreement with a city in Italy.

Mayor Jose Espinosa III bared this plan in an interview on Friday, saying the ambassador of Italy to the Philippines Giorgio Guglielmino will visit Iloilo City in the first week of September.

“Maybe we can forge some agreement or ties with one Italian city,” Espinosa said.

The mayor said Italy is doing well in terms of “cultural aspect and the preservation of monuments.”

Last July 30, the city government also signed a letter of intent with Fujian province’s Quanzhou City in the People’s Republic of China for the establishment of friendly ties.

Espinosa recalled that the signing of the document was anchored on the economic aspect, since many Ilonggo Chinese families in this city trace their roots to Fujian.

Meanwhile, the city government will gather its Sister Cities in the Philippines and abroad on Aug. 25 as one of the highlights of the 81st Charter Day anniversary.

As of Friday, the cities of Tacurong and San Juan have confirmed attendance to the Sister Cities night.

Iloilo City has more than 20 sister cities in the Philippines and abroad.

CPU Pharmacy graduate Top 5 in board exam

By Ian Paul Cordero (PN)

ILOILO City – A graduate of Central Philippine University ranked No. 5 in the recent licensure examination for pharmacists administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

The 21-year-old Apryl Joyce Campañera Catalan got a rating of 91.22 percent.

“Faith in God, His grace and guidance,” she said, were her keys to passing the exam.

PRC conducted the licensure examinations in key cities – Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Zamboanga – on Aug. 4 and 5. The results were released on Wednesday.

Catalan, a resident of Barangay San Roque, Jaro district, said she wasn’t initially sure she passed the exam.

“Pag-release sang results nag-brownout,” she told Panay News.

With no way of confirming the results, she thought those who congratulated her may have been joking.

Apryl Joyce is the eldest of two children of couple Armin, a government employee, and Daisy Joy, a teacher at CPU.

She said she got a big hug from her happy father after he learned of her feat.

According to the new pharmacist, she would like to proceed to Medicine “if the opportunity arises.”

She may take the National Medical Admission Test this October. A total of 2,927 examinees passed the licensure exam for pharmacists out of 4,230 takers, PRC data showed.

“Do your best…pray and surrender everything to God,” was Catalan’s sisterly advice to students.

Belgian-Filipina Louise Tan Theunis of the Cebu Doctor’s University ranked No. 1 in this year’s exam with a score of 91.55 percent.

According to the PRC, the registration for the issuance of the Professional Identification Card (ID) and Certificate of Registration will be done online (www.prc.gov.ph) from Aug. 13 to Aug. 20, 2018.

Mom and Baby expo showcases benefit of breastfeeding

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- The City Health Office (CHO) is now gearing for the fifth year of its Mom and Baby Expo that aims to showcase healthy breastfed babies.

On Friday, mothers and their babies gathered at the third floor of the City Hall for the pre-selection pageant in preparation for the final selection this August 23.

“This aims to showcase that breastfeeding babies can led to healthy babies. One of the criteria is breastfeeding and complete immunization,” said Dr. Jennifer T. Anceno of the CHO.

She said that it is difficult to convince mothers to go into an exclusive breastfeeding, “especially in culture where mothers are working”.

Anceno hoped that with the kind of activity, they would be able to encourage more mothers to go into exclusive breastfeeding, especially during the first six months of the baby.

She added that the first 1,000 days of babies, although it was extended up to five years old, will reflect if the mother was healthy while she was carrying the baby inside her womb.

“A healthy child is a happy child,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Mom and Baby Expo has two categories: Star Baby and Mother and Child.

For the Star Baby, their growth and development will comprise 50 percent of the criteria and the other 50 percent is for personality and charm.

On the other hand, for the Mother and Child, 70 percent will be for the personality of the mother and child and 30 percent for charm.

The expo is also part of the activities in celebration of the 81st Charter Day anniversary of Iloilo City.

Iloilo City slates citywide cleanup on Aug. 18

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- For the first time, the city government here will mobilize all its 180 barangays for the citywide clean-up slated on August 18.

On Thursday, Engr. Noel Hechanova, head of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO), said that the cleanup drive is in connection with the 81st celebration of the Iloilo City Charter Day on August 25.

“We have agreed with the city mayor that we will have a citywide cleanup. Perhaps this would be the first time that all barangays would get involved in this clean-up,” he said.

Hechanova said he also invited schools, national government agencies and even the city hall to the activity.

He explained that barangay officials will have to identify the area that they are going to clean and the pickup point so it would be easier for garbage collectors to retrieve the wastes.

Hechanova said they expect tons of garbage although they have no idea as to the actual volume.

Earlier the General Services Office (GSO) revealed that the city generates around 300 tons of wastes daily.

The cleanup, however, will focus on garbage left behind on the streets.

“Barangays have their own regular cleanup drive. But this is just awareness raising,” Hechanova said, adding that there are waste issues in other parts of the city.

He identified for instance the need to clean the Jaro River, which is now covered by a special program that will soon be launched along with other local government units within the Tigum-Aganan Watershed.

Hechanova added that it is also part of sustaining the cleanup efforts of the city government.

Iloilo City mulls accreditation of ‘barkers’

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- "Barkers” may soon be partnering with the city government here in ensuring the smooth flow of traffic, adherence to parking rules, and orderly and organized passenger loading.

Jeck Conlu, head of the Iloilo City Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO), on Tuesday met with barkers operating at the City Proper District for a consultation as he plans to submit a recommendation to the Sangguniang Panlungsod to amend the “Anti-Barker Ordinance of the City of Iloilo”.

The ordinance defines a barker as “an individual or person who calls for, facilitates, induces or convinces commuters to board a particular or preferred public utility vehicle for the purpose of extracting an amount from the driver”.

Under the same ordinance, those caught performing as a barker shall be held criminally liable and shall be immediately apprehended and detained. If found guilty, the barker shall suffer imprisonment of not less than three months but not more than six months at the discretion of the court.

Conlu said that it would be better to amend the ordinance and give them accreditation as one way of helping them. They could help the city if given proper training so they can respond during traffic congestion in their area.

Among their supposed tasks would be to facilitate proper parking and to assist for an orderly and organized queue of passengers at the loading area.

Conlu said they intend to conduct an experiment at the capitol area.

“In one way or another, this can help them,” he said. He added that authorities also seek help from barkers should they need information if a crime or illegal activities happen in their area.

“We will help them because they can help the city,” he added.

However, he emphasized that not all can be given accreditation. They have to be recommended by a transport group.

Conlu said that in 2014, in an effort to help the barkers, the city government provided them with cash assistance. He said he will check whatever happened to the assistance.

Conlu said he will be submitting his recommendation to the city council this month as he hoped to execute the plan within the year.

Meantime, while the ordinance is not yet amended, Conlu said that the city government will have it strictly implemented.

Iloilo City to launch new anti-drug drive in schools, villages

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- The city government will launch a new anti-drug campaign as a commitment of Mayor Jose Espinosa III to President Rodrigo R. Duterte.

The mayor on Monday said the program, dubbed “Utos ni Presidente, Utos ni Mayor: Just Say No to Drugs”, will ensure relentless and sustained anti-drug campaign in the metropolis.

“We will be going to schools and barangays (villages) to showcase that anti-drug program,” he said.

He revealed that while drug cases in the city have dropped according to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), the local government should not be complacent.

As part of the anti-drug campaign, the city government on Sunday also launched its Palarong Panlungsod to focus on sports.

“That is a program where we reach out to our children to encourage them to go into sports instead of drugs,” he said.

Meanwhile, to ensure the success of the initiative as well as other youth and sports programs, Espinosa appointed Marie Antoinette Gallos as Executive Assistant for Youth and Sports to work hand-in-hand with the Youth and Development Office of Jason Gregorio.

Gallos resigned from her post as Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairperson of Brgy. Ingore, La Paz. She vied for the SK Federation president post but lost to Leila Luntao.

“She’s a very active individual, has a good rapport with her fellow youth and she has good leadership,” he said.

Espinosa said it will not overlap with the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) because the main function of the SK is on governance aspect.

The SK chair, who sits as member of the council, works on legislation, he noted.

“We will be coordinating with the SK. So if there is a need for legislation needing the help of the SK representative, then we will be working with them,” he said.

Firm offers one-stop shop application center in iloilo City

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- A private company has expressed interest to establish a one-stop shop application center (OSAC) that will house the processing and issuance of police clearance, health certificate and work permit in Iloilo City.

The unsolicited proposal for the development and installation of the “end-to-end system” by the Eastland Printink Inc. was subjected to a public consultation by the Sangguniang Panlungsod’s committee on police matters on Monday.

Committee chair lawyer Joshua Alim said resource persons during the consultation gave a positive response to the proposal but it has yet to be subjected to a public bidding or Swiss challenge because it is an unsolicited proposal.

“This is an offer of service. When somebody offers for services, it must be subjected to a bidding or Swiss challenge,” he said.

Alim said applying through their proposal is not expensive because it will spare the public the hassle of visiting three offices to process their transactions. The proponent also assured that it has placed security features to ensure that clients' documents will not be tampered with.

“Our aim is to automate the processes and introduce online mechanisms to hopefully enhance the security, productivity and efficiency of the system,” Robert Bunagan, vice president for finance of the Eastland Printink Inc., said.

With their system, they will be “linking all stations that they are servicing.” They will then be sharing the database of derogatory records of individuals.

"This strengthens the vetting of the applicants and this gives assurance that an applicant with a derogatory record will not be given a police clearance in another locality," Bunagan said.

He also emphasized that their company will be shouldering the expenses.

“We will be supplying the consumables, the hardware equipment, and maintenance of the system as well and we can also provide complement of employees to operate the system or we could train employees of the city to undertake the processing of the various documents,” he said.

The company has been servicing selected cities and municipalities in the National Capital Region, Batangas, Rizal, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac and Cebu.

Bunagan said Eastland is a security printer accredited by the National Printing Office.

Iloilo City vies for 4 national awards

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY – Validators of four award giving bodies are expected in this metropolis this August and September following the inclusion of Iloilo City as finalist to the national award this year.

Mayor Jose Espinosa III said that for the first time, this city is joining the search for the National Literacy Award (NLA) of the Department of Education (DepEd) for the local government unit (LGU) highly-urbanized city subcategory.

“We have been judged as one of the five finalists. This look into our projects in education, including alternative learning (system), as long as it provides education,” he said during his regular press conference on Monday.

Among the city’s major literacy and education program initiatives are the alternative learning system, vocational-technical training through the Technical Institute of Iloilo City (TIIC), Iloilo City Community College that provides affordable and quality education to indigent students, and the KAhublagan sa BArangay para sa LApnagon nga KAhandaan (KABALAKA) that serves as a banner project of the city government on disaster risk reduction management (DRRM).

The Iloilo River project initiative is also a finalist to the Galing Pook Awards 2018. The award giving body recognizes innovative practices of LGUs.

City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) head, Engr. Noel Hechanova, in one of his interviews, said that the cleanup initiatives at the Iloilo River have stirred up more than PHP2 billion worth of projects to be invested in Iloilo City.

Espinosa said Iloilo City was also “short-listed as one of the potential passers” of the 2018 Seal of Good Local Governance Award (SGLG) of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

The validation for the NLA will be on August 7; August 8 for the SGLG and August 13-14 for the Galing Pook Award.

The last award giving body is the Most Child-friendly city for highly urbanized city, of which the validation is slated September 23-24.

“We are really (thankful) to our partners because we could not have attained this without the partnership of our private sector, the public, media and government. This is just an additional feather on our cap because we are all doing this to improve the services,” he said.

369 breastfeeding moms in Iloilo City join ‘Global Big Latch On’

By Cindy Ferrer (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- Some 369 mothers in Iloilo City joined a simultaneous breastfeeding activity to support and educate women on its health benefits and show that nursing in public place is normal.

Dubbed “Hakab Na 2018! The Global Big Latch On”, the Saturday event was organized by the online support group “Breastfeeding Ilonggas” and supported by the city government. It was held at the Festive Walk Mall in Mandurriao district.

In an interview, Adhara Sebuado, co-founder and main organizer of the campaign, said the event is conducted in a public place to show that breastfeeding of babies in public is normal.

“The more people see women breastfeeding, the more normal it will become,” she said.

She said the event will encourage nursing mothers to follow the recommendation of the World Health Organization (WHO) to exclusively breastfeed their babies from birth up to three to six months.

“Only few complied because of the poor implementation of the laws,” she said.

Sebuado is referring to Executive Order 51 or the Milk Code, which ensures the protection of breastfeeding.

She said among the participating women and babies in the event, a four and a half years old child was recognized for being the “longest latching baby” while the “youngest lactating baby” honor went to a 15-day old infant. An 18-year-old was recognized as the youngest breastfeeding mom.

She encouraged mothers to prioritize breastfeeding and extend the duration of their breastfeeding as recommended by the WHO.

“The longer a mother breastfeeds, the higher immune protection and benefits t(to the baby), not only nutrition wise but also psycho-emotionally to the child,” she said.

Mayor Jose Espinosa III, who graced the event stressed the importance of the activity because it has provided attention to the babies.

“The nutrition that the babies could get from the natural milk of their moms is really different compared to the artificial milk,” he said.

“This event will encourage more breastfeeding moms in our city and will promote closeness between the mother and the child,” he added.

Espinosa said he already directed the City Health Office to identify more assistance that the city government could extend to promote breastfeeding, as well as to improve the nutrition of all other children in this city.

The event started in this city last 2014 with only 52 breastfeeding moms taking part.

Sebuado said the number grew to 100 participating breastfeeding moms in 2015; 169 in 2016; 182 in 2017; and this year with 369.

The event is in line with the National Breastfeeding Awareness Month and International Breastfeeding Week this August.

‘Clean Rider’ campaign launched in Western Visayas

By Cindy Ferrer (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- The Police Regional Office in Western Visayas (PRO-6) on Wednesday launched the "Clean Rider" campaign.

In an interview, Supt. Joem Malong, spokesperson of PRO-6, said the campaign will help prevent the “increasing number of cases perpetrated by motorcycle-riding suspects.”

“This will also ensure the safety of the riders and to avoid the long process of screening of riders during conduct of checkpoints,” she added.

Malong said riders should present to the police proper documents like vehicle certificate of registration, driver’s license and any government-issued identification card so they will be issued with “clean rider” stickers to be placed in front of their motorcycle.

The sticker has security features and serialized to ascertain which police station the motorcycle was registered in, she said.

Stating the data from the Land Transportation Office 6 (LTO-6), Malong said they will be accounting more than 230,000 motorcycles in the entire region.

Initially they will distribute 5,000 stickers.

She appealed to the riders to have their motorcycles registered at their respective police stations so they will be issued stickers.

Malong said that the campaign is expected to prevent the use of motorcycles in doing illegal activities because they already have the data of these vehicles.

“If they will use it in any crime, they will be easily tracked because we have a centralized data system in the region and the national headquarters,” she said.

The launching of the campaign was held at the car park of Robinson's in Pavia town.

Japanese teachers learn from city gov’t best DRR practices

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- Fifteen teachers from various schools in Tohoku, Japan arrived in this city to learn about the best practices of the metropolis in disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM) on Wednesday.

The visit was in line with the Overseas Teacher’s Study Program of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

“This year, the teachers from Tohoku area came to the Philippines to study disaster good management and different risk management issues because Tohoku was hit by an earthquake in 2011. They want to exchange experience with Iloilo City because Iloilo City is very prone to flooding,” said Yoshio Wada, JICA Philippines’ chief representative.

Wada said Iloilo City has many community-based programs for the disaster management that teachers from Yohoku could learn.

“If there is a particular use for them, maybe they will use it in Tohoku,” he added.

“We want to have many, many exchange between the teachers, the regions, how to share the experience. To promote such information sharing, experience sharing is our role in JICA,” he added.

One of the delegates Yuriko Sambommatsu from the special support education school of the Kakuda School for Special Needs Education said that Iloilo City and the Tohoku area, where they came from, have many similarities when it comes to disaster challenges.

“We hope to learn not only international understanding but also how Iloilo City adapts disaster risk (and) management,” she said.

Franco Agudo of the Iloilo City Planning and Development office briefed the delegates about the profile of the city.

His presentation showed that Iloilo City is prone to six hazards: flooding, storm surge, earthquake, water scarcity, fire, and soil liquefaction.

He said 25 coastal barangays are prone to storm surge, 27 barangays are affected by water scarcity, 150 are prone to fire, and 179 of the city’s 180 barangays are prone to liquefaction.

Officer-in-charge of the Office of Iloilo City Schools Division Superintendent Clarisa Zamora, meanwhile, explained the role of the Department of Education in times of disaster when schools are used as evacuation centers.

In Iloilo City, schools regularly conduct earthquake drills. All schools also have DRRM coordinators.

Iloilo’s maritime university gets NCCA aid on museum enhancement

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- The enhancement of the maritime museum of the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) here is a recipient of a grant from the National Commission for Culture and the Arts worth PHP350,000.

Dr. Ronald Raymund Sebastian, chief executive officer of JBLFMU, in an interview on Tuesday said he has already approved the plan for the expansion of the storage area, where all other artifacts and documents will be stored.

“The museum has specific requirements about the storage and where to put it,” she said.

The museum is located on the second floor of the JBLFMU-Molo campus. It holds a collection of valuable artifacts found in a sunken galleon dating back to the Ming and Sung dynasties, equipment and navigational tools used by the university prior to the advent of technology, the Lacson genealogy and the development of the university starting from being just a maritime academy.

The artifacts -- porcelains, jars -- were authenticated by the National Museum and registered in the National Library.

The museum started as an archive back in the 1990s.

“It blossomed into a library, we call it Library of Cultural Heritage,” said Mary Lou Arcelo, president emeritus and chairman of the Board of JBLFMU.

She added it was inspired by the book she wrote “Less than Noble Intention,” a history of the Lacson family and how Capt. (Juan) Lacson founded the Maritime School.

“Since he was a master mariner, so we put in a lot of maritime artifacts,” she added. So the collection already included the first instrument, equipment that we had, books (some are even used as reference materials of their students) and sunken treasures because Galleon trade was part of maritime,” she added.

With the suggestion of Dr. Angel Alcala, a Filipino scientist, the museum also added shells, fishes and corals for it to become “holistic” because maritime is not only about shipping but also about the sea.

In 2015, they decided to convert it into a maritime museum. Dr. Melchor Magramo, JBLFMU research director, asked the help of the National Historical Museum on how to organize it and make it look like a museum.

“Basically it’s the same collections, items since the very beginning only that it was organized. We started with the legacy of the Lacson, development of different school sites, equipment,” he said.

Museum curator Dr. Wilfredo P. Ramos said they can already start with the enhancement anytime because the plan has already been approved.

“It will be incorporated in the existing museum,” he said.

Annually the NCCA calls for project proposals for culture and arts projects and activities.

Early this month, Niño Selibio, NCCA Project Development Officer for the Arts Section said the commission has approved PHP2.375 million worth of project proposals from Iloilo for 2018. Included in the approved grants was the proposal for JBLFMU for their museum project.

Sebastian said that the museum is very significant because the JBLFMU is the oldest maritime school in Iloilo. It became the country’s first maritime university in 2007.

The museum is the sole maritime museum in the Visayas open for public viewing. They just have to advise the university about the visit, especially when in group, so they could make the necessary preparations, Sebastian said.

Iloilo City hosts int’l forum on sharing of DRRM best practices

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- More than 50 delegates from member countries of the CITYNET will gather in this city on August 2-4 for the 11th Disaster Cluster seminar that will serve as venue for the gathering of best practices on disaster risk reduction and management (DRRM).

“It’s really a sharing of the best practices among cities on the best disaster risk reduction and resilience,” said Donna Magno, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), in an interview on Tuesday.

CITYNET is a network of cities from various countries in Asia and the Pacific, with Iloilo as an active member.

Magno said that in the case of Iloilo City, among those that will be shared are “experiences on managing risks in the context of being a coastal city, how we engage the private sector in when it comes to DRR and efforts to introduce intergenerational transfer of knowledge when it comes to risk reduction.”

“Other cities will share their best practices when it comes to ensuring resilience of their structures and enhancement of the knowledge of their residents when it comes to DRR,” she added.

The international gathering has confirmed guests from Taipei, Sri Lanka, Colombo, Thailand, Bangladesh and Japan and CITYNET member cities from the Philippines. They came from local government units, the academe, business sector and other stakeholders.

Aside from Iloilo, there are 11 other CITYNET member cities in the country and these are Marikina, Muntinlupa, San Fernando City in La Union, Naga, Tarlac, Mandaue, Makati, Iriga, Legazpi, Balanga and Baguio, said Paulo Mora, CITYNET Project Coordinator in the Philippines.

The topics to be discussed during the three-day event include Evolving Perspectives on Resilience and Disaster Risk Reduction; Understanding Risks and Enhancing Risk Governance: Innovations in Disaster Risk Management in Local Contexts; Risk Reduction for Resilience with Private Sector; Investing in Resilient Structures at Local and National Levels; Inter-generational Transfer of Knowledge in Disaster Prevention; and CTYNET Disaster Cluster Strategic Planning 2018.

Magno said Iloilo City could benefit from the hosting because most of the local participants are members of the local council.

“This is part of strengthening our competencies. So being around they will learn about the efforts, initiatives of member cities, which maybe applicable here,” she said.

Among the best practices it intends to share is the KABALAKA (Kahublagan sa Barangay para sa Lapnagon nga Kahandaan sa Kalamidad) campaign.

It contains package of programs that aim to “create a new generation of children who shows concern during disasters, concern for environment and concern for elderly and persons with disabilities, among others.”

The programs are being integrated in the KABALAKA gallery, where children learn disaster preparedness through games.

“In this program we emphasized self-help and mutual help,” she said.

Iloilo City is a recipient of Community Based Adaptation and Resiliency Against Disasters (CBARAD) facilitated by CITYNET.

CBARAD aims to develop a community-level adaptation and resiliency schemes in the metropolis and increase the resident’s awareness of self-sustaining community during disaster, especially during flood.

Iloilo, Quanzhou cities eye closer friendly, economic ties

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- Iloilo City and the Quanzhou City in the Fujian province of the People’s Republic of China are eyeing a closer tie following the signing of the letter of intent to establish a friendly relationship, Monday.

Mayor Jose Espinosa III, in welcoming the delegation and sign on behalf of the city, emphasized that the relationship of the two cities is “founded not only on economics but also family and bloodline”.

He noted that based on history, most of the Ilonggo-Chinese in Iloilo trace their roots in Fujian province.

“Today the signing of our intention for friendly cities is not only to rekindle our bloodlines but also our economic ties,” he said.

Meanwhile, Wang Ruiqiang, who led the delegation from Quanzhou and signed on behalf of his city, cited trade, cultural exchanges, education and closer relation of port authorities as areas where the two cities could work together in the future.

“There is huge possibilities and inexhaustible potentials for our cities to work together,” he said through a translator.

He cited that their city is active in the Belt and Road initiative, particularly in the 21st century Maritime Silk Road project.

He said Iloilo is one of the major cities of the Philippines, which is among the major countries that lie along the 21st Maritime Silk Road.

“The city is endowed with fine environment with its inherent geographic advantages,” he added.

In terms of trade, he said they hope to mutually promote economic development and even invited entrepreneurs and business groups to join their annual Maritime Silk Road expo, which is a gathering of famous international brands, every April 18.

“Our city organizes international art festival once every two years. We will invite countries along the Maritime Silk Road to send delegations. We sincerely welcome cultural and art societies in Iloilo to join in the art festival,” he said about the cultural exchanges.

He also hoped to “promote the establishment of friendly relationship between the schools in Quanzhou and Iloilo”.

“Under this arrangement, we may organize teachers and students to conduct friendly visits and exchanges,” he said.

He said he looks forward to port authorities of both cities to “establish mechanism to ensure closer and friendly exchanges” as he mentioned that Quanzhou and Iloilo are both port cities.

“We hope both cities would establish deeper and closer friendly exchanges and cooperation, promote interaction between the peoples of two cities to produce tangible results. Quanzhou is a beautiful and livable city bounded at one side with rolling hills and on the other side the deep blue seas. It is endowed with fine climate suitable for living, for short term vacation and tour,” he said.

The letter of intent, meanwhile, states that both parties, in signing the document, agree to “promote friendly contacts between the two cities and develop exchanges and cooperation on fields: economic and trade, science and technology, culture, education, public health an arts among others”.

They will also establish a sister city relationship in the future.

The signing of the letter of intent was witnessed by Fang Jiangsheng of Quanzhou and Vice Mayor Jeffrey Ganzon of Iloilo City.

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