Iloilo City News November 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.

DepEd, UNICEF promoting hygiene thru WASH in Schools initiatives

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- The Department of Education (DepEd) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) are moving towards strengthening the system of the DepEd WASH in Schools to promote hygiene in learning institutions at the same time contribute to the global agenda of the Social Development Goals.

Jon Michael Villasensor, Schools Officer of the UNICEF WASH section, said UNICEF is working with DepEd in crafting DepEd Order No. 10 or the National Washing School Policy. It also extended technical support for the formulation of the strategy known as the Three Star Approach.

“What is quite remarkable is the momentum that people are pushing and the enthusiasm to implement this now. There is national policy, there is a strategy to implement it, there is a recognition system for performance,” he said in an interview Tuesday.

“The mindset now is that school health is not something separate from the business of DepEd. Rather it is a precondition needed for DepEd to achieve the learning outcomes of children,” he added.

He said that WASH facilities provide safe and good learning environment for children.

Implementers of the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in Schools program are in this city for the three-day national learning exchange that runs until this November 14.

DepEd Western Visayas Regional Director Ma. Gemma M. Ledesma said the event provided an opportunity for all regions to “learn from each other”.

“Learning from each other is very important, especially that this activity is lodged on school-based management,” she said, adding that lots of initiatives were introduced in the implementation of the program.

In Western Visayas, she said the goal is clear, which is to provide water, sanitation and hygiene facilities that include health education and deworming.

WASH has already been implemented in the region’s 20 divisions although the stages vary as classified under the Three Star Approach. “Reaching the three stars means reaching the national standards,” she said.

“If we believe that our children need to be healthy to go to school, we should implement WASH. It is really proven that handwashing is a key to healthy body. It is through keeping hands clean that we can drive off infection, we can drive off diseases,” Ledesma said.

Also, Ledesma added that researches prove that there is a correlation between the implementation of WASH to the attendance and eventually the achievement in school.

The basic requirements include provision of safe drinking water, gender-segregated toilets, group hand-washing facilities with soap and water and access to menstrual pads.

Villasenor recalled that the first Wash in Schools international learning exchange was hosted by Iloilo in 2012.

“This is ground zero of international learning exchange. It happens that Region 6 has also been able to lead the implementation of Wash in Schools in the Philippines. It is providential that they are hosting it here,” he added.

Just like any program, WASH also encounters challenges, one of which is access to sustainable water supply that must be responded to by local government units.

During the three-day event, selected divisions of DepEd Western Visayas also showcase various initiatives that are implemented in schools within their jurisdiction.

DSWD’s feeding program serves 192K in West Visayas

By Cindy Ferrer (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- Some 192,927 children in Western Visayas have benefited from the 120-day Supplementary Feeding Program (SFP) implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) this year to improve the nutritional status of schoolchildren.

In an interview Friday, Diana Alcantara, DSWD’s focal person for SFP, said they have spent PHP254.6 million for children’s food under the Supervised Neighborhood Play (SNP) for children aged two to four years old; and children enrolled in the Child Development Centers or Day Care Centers in the region, aged two to five years old.

This year, the province of Negros Occidental recorded the highest number of beneficiaries with 73,033 children amounting to PHP96.3 million. Iloilo followed with 61,317 children, PHP80.9 million; Antique with 21,687 children, PHP28.6 million; Capiz with 18,835 children, PHP24.8 million; Aklan with 13, 336 children, PHP17.6 million; and Guimaras with 4, 749 beneficiaries amounting to PHP6.2 million.

“It really helped a lot in solving the problem on malnutrition among the children, especially those who are poor and in far-flung areas,” Alcantara said.

She noted that some children usually do not have the appetite to eat but are encouraged when they are served food in schools, together with their fellow children. Likewise, parents who prepare the food for the children also benefit in terms of learning what nutritious food to serve, not only for the program but also in their homes.

The SFP, which provides food in addition to regular meals, is also part of the DSWD’s contribution to the Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) program.

The food supplement for the schoolchildren includes hot meals served during break time in the morning or in the afternoon. This year’s SFP coincided with the start of classes in June.

Alcantara expressed hope that many more children would benefit from next year’s SFP.

Iloilo’s X’mas job fair offers 29K vacancies

By Cindy Ferrer (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- Some 29,000 jobs will be made available during the Christmas Job Fair of the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) in Iloilo province on December 7-8.

In an interview Friday, Francisco Heler Jr. of PESO said 111 companies have confirmed their participation in the annual activity, 21 of which are offering 23,823 jobs for overseas employment, and 87 offering 5,177 jobs for local employment.

Three government agencies have also signified their interest to join the job fair -- the Bureau of Fire Protection, Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

Heler said the available jobs may increase as they target to gather 150 companies. “We are continuously accepting interested companies to join,” he said.

Heler said they have decided to conduct the job fair for two days to provide companies ample time to meet the jobseekers.

On Dec. 7, overseas recruitment agencies, business process outsourcing (BPOs), banks/microfinance, logistics, real estate and government agencies will open their jobs.

Meanwhile, work related to retail/wholesale, manufacturing, food service, car companies and hotels will be opened by companies on December 8.

So far, 155 applicants have already pre-registered at the PESO office.

Heler expressed hope that companies would be able to reach the target of 15 percent of the total applicants to be hired on the spot.

Assistance desks of various agencies will again be put up to assist the jobseekers regarding requirements and other concerns. These are the Department of Foreign Affairs, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, the Professional Regulation Commission, the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the Philippine Statistics Authority, and the Department of Labor and Employment.

Special lanes will be made available for persons with disability, Indigenous Peoples, single parents, and beneficiaries of the Sustainable Livelihood Program and Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

A number of local government units in the province will also provide “Libreng Sakay”, “Libreng Angkas”, and “Libreng Pamasahe” to help ease the transport of applicants from their towns, especially from remote areas.

Russian envoy proposes film fest in Iloilo

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- Russian Ambassador to the Philippines Igor Anatolyevich Khovaev is proposing to hold a Russian Film Festival in this city next month.

Mayor Jose Espinosa III, in an interview on Thursday, said he has been in discussions with the diplomat about developing trade, cultural and heritage exchanges during the Russian envoy's visit here for the Agri-Aqua Investment Forum of the Panay Organic Producers Association Inc. held at the Iloilo Convention Center, Nov 7-9, 2018.

The envoy also visited this city last January for the Dinagyang Festival.

“It’s more of exploratory talks but they are pushing this one in December about a film festival,” he said.

He added the ambassador would like to bring in films that focus on children.

He also would like to explore possible investment areas as he talked about possible trade missions, he added.

The mayor also urged the envoy to encourage Russian tourists to consider Iloilo City as among their destinations. “During January it’s very cold in Russia, so they may consider coming to Iloilo during Dinagyang,” the mayor said.

He was also informed that the department in-charge of the Russian Navy has approved to make Iloilo as its port call when it visits the Philippines next year.

65 public schools in W. Visayas to receive free computers

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- A total of 650 desktop computers will be given to 65 public secondary schools in Western Visayas under the largest computerization project for the basic education sector in the country.

Each school will receive 10 personal computers and printers under the Personal Computer for Public School-Phase 5 (PCPS-5) project, which is managed by the by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), in partnership with the Department of Education (DepEd).

The Phase 5 of the project has a budget of PHP196 million from the Government of Japan No-Project Grant Assistance (NPGA-CVF) for 380 public high schools in Mindanao and Visayas.

The computers are expected to be delivered to the recipient schools before the end of the year, David Israel Sinay, DTI regional information officer, said on Tuesday.

The fifth phase seeks to replace the “obsolete computer packages in schools affected by typhoon/earthquake”, he added.

Likewise it also aims to “upgrade computer laboratories to support the implementation of the K to 12 curriculum.”

In Western Visayas, the recipients include schools from six provinces such as Aklan with 28; Antique, eight; Iloilo, 25; and two each for Negros Occidental and Capiz.

The DTI Western Visayas gathered representatives of recipient schools and coordinators for an orientation held in this city.

“They were oriented about the purpose of the program and its implementation,” Sinay added.

Zenaida F. Pre, chief of the Resource Generation Coordination of the DTI, during the orientation said that since its first implementation in 2001 until 2014 covering Phases 1-4, the project has benefited 5,028 public schools and delivered 61, 554 computers.

The project has contributed to the reduction of computer backlog in public high schools from 76 percent in 2003 to just four percent in 2014.

Filipino inventors pilot rapid dengue test kit in W. Visayas

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- Western Visayas is one of the three pilot sites for the Filipino-invented and more affordable rapid test kit to detect the deadly dengue hemorrhagic fever.

Biotek-M is now a “matured” technology, having been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), adopted by the Department of Health (DOH), and now in the pilot implementation, said Dr. Raul V. Destura, scientist and molecular microbiologist, on Wednesday.

“We are the first who developed locally the technology intended to reach the marginalized sector. The purpose of the technology is to become the new standard in terms of cost for diagnostics,” he said in an interview on the sidelines of the 3rd Western Visayas Health Research Conference held in this city.

The rapid test kit for dengue is 70 to 80 percent cheaper compared with existing test kits available in the market. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology costs between PHP4,000 to PHP7,000 per test.

The Biotek-M is 100 percent government-funded: 90 percent from the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and 10 percent by the University of the Philippines.

In addition to Western Visayas, it is also being tested in Ilocos Region and Zamboanga Peninsula.

“Right now, our manufacturing targets are the demand of the Department of Health (DOH),” he added.

“The challenge now is not just developing the technology. It’s for our countrymen to trust Filipino scientists developing technology. The adaptation part is a major challenge for our technology developers,” he added.

He said that while it is still on its pilot implementation, the “super target is for it to reach the barangay implementation”.

“If it reaches there, then I know that my job is complete because that is really our target--the marginalized sector. Hopefully you guys will help me convince agencies to adopt Filipino-based technology to inspire our scientists to keep on working,” he said.

“If you want scientists to be inspired by doing more for health and science development, is for his countrymen to adopt what they’re doing. Personally, it’s very difficult to compete with foreign products in your home country,” he added.

He said that their technology was supposed to go full-swing five years ago but for now they have DOH, which is one-third of their target adopters. The others are supposed to be the private health institutions and the local government units.

“This is the first locally developed technology for dengue diagnostics that has reached this far,” he said.

He underscored that if adopters are not responsive to what they are doing, then they “fail” the government and the science community.

"The technology is owned by the people because it came from your pockets. The government is just the administrator of your money. So, basically it is owned by the country, it is rightful that we adopt it and be proud of what we are doing,” he urged.

The science and technology development costs about PHP14 million and the Technology Adaptation and Promotion Institute (FAPI) added PHP11 million for the field post marketing research.

The team that developed the Biotek-M is composed of seven inventors and four support staff.

“The government is spending millions and millions of pesos to spark development in the country. I’ve never seen this much funding opportunity provided since I came back from the US in 2005,” he said.

The action of the government he said is “very encouraging”.

The 3rd Western Visayas Health Research Conference with the theme “Improved Health Outcome through Health Research and Innovation” is organized by the Western Visayas Research and Development Consortium (WVRDC) in partnership with the DOST and the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (PCHRD).

DA eyes cassava, sweet potato, corn as alternative to rice

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Unit 6 is again calling on the public to patronize other alternative staple food rather than relying solely on rice as the country observes Rice Awareness Month this November.

In her message during the launching of the awareness month celebration held at SM City on Nov. 5, Agriculture Regional Executive Director Remelyn R. Recoter identified other staple foods such as cassava, sweet potato or camote, banana (saba variety) and even the white corn. Using these substitute foods can reduce the demand for rice.

“There is pressure in the rice industry to produce more. The country’s per capita consumption is 119 kilos per person,” she said.

She added that the 70-30 rice-corn mixture is found to be acceptable based on a study conducted among schoolchildren in Los Baños, Laguna. It has better nutritional values.

In addition, DA is also pushing for brown rice consumption, which is healthier compared with the well-milled rice.

Nonetheless, this Rice Awareness Month, Recoter encouraged the public to be “RICEponsible”. One of the objectives of the celebration is to instill the values of responsible rice consumption among consumers.

“What is important is we would be able to disseminate to our consuming public the importance of rice, being the staple food not only of Filipinos but half of the population of the globe. In the Philippines, rice is considered a political commodity,” she said.

The RICEponsible campaign also focuses on improving the competitiveness of farmers to produce quality rice.

“We are hoping that with the interventions of the government we would be able to uplift the lives of our farmers,” Recoter added.

This year’s celebration anchors on the theme “Quality Rice, Quality Life”.

“In the theme we are encouraging stakeholders to patronize local products, especially the produce of Filipino farmers, such as our rice variants to achieve safe and quality food for a long life,” said James Earl Ogatis, regional information officer.

Meantime, to entice the public to patronize brown rice, DA also offered a free tasting of cooked brown rice during the launching program.

It was followed by an agriculture exhibit and brown rice cooking challenge held in the afternoon.

A three-kilometer fun run will also be held on Nov. 24 dubbed “Run for Rice” to promote responsible consumption.

Iloilo airport can endure Intensity 9 earthquake

By Perla Lena (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- The Iloilo International Airport main building and tower in Cabatuan, Iloilo was built to withstand Intensity 9 earthquake, according to Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Iloilo Terminal Supervisor Art Parreño.

Parreño, in an interview following series of earthquake incidences recorded in Panay and Guimaras by the Philippine Volcanology and Seismology on Monday, said the building was made using Japanese technology.

The airport consists of three buildings: the check-in area, the one where elevator going to the third floor is located, and the arrival area.

“Seemingly they look like one building. When there is shaking, then it is not the entire building,” he said.

Parreño was at the final X-ray at the third floor of the building when the first occurrence was felt at 7:45 a.m. Passengers were immediately instructed “not to panic and everything goes normal.”

During the third occurrence at around 10:54 a.m., he was informed that an almost half-a-kilo LED lamp fell from the ceiling of the building and hit one flight stewardess bound for General Santos City.

The victim, Flora Villaruz, 39, of Philippine Airlines suffered an abrasion. She was immediately given medical attention, he added.

Amid the incident, Parreño said that operations remained normal.

“After the earthquake, I immediately gathered my personnel for them to be aware of the procedure that it is our obligation to lead the evacuation,” Parreño said.

In case the aftershocks would persist, he said they will shut down the elevator and janitorial personnel will take the lead towards the evacuation area.

Parreño said the airport security committee convened at 2 p.m. to discuss the needed preparations in case there will be aftershocks.

“We have to stay cool, relax and follow instructions. Under our procedure, there will be an announcement and the janitorial service will be guiding towards the right path for the exit route to the evacuation area outside of the terminal building. If they panic then everything goes wrong,” he said.

The first quake has a 4.7 magnitude with an epicenter located in San Jose, Antique.

The second tremor has a magnitude 4 with an epicenter located in Sibunag, Guimaras at 7:46 a.m. while the third occurrence with a 4.8 magnitude was at 10:54 am with epicenter at Guimbal, Iloilo.

Thereafter, a series of five occurrences were further recorded with the epicenters located in Leon, Iloilo.

Alletha Nogra, chief of the Civil Defense Western Visayas Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Division, said since the tremors were tectonic in origin, then one of the triggering factors could be the active West Panay Fault.

The West Panay Fault passes through portions of Antique, Iloilo province, Iloilo City Capiz and Aklan.

Iloilo River dev’t project wins Galing Pook award

By Glenda Tayona (PN)

ILOILO City – The Iloilo-Batiano River Development Project won the coveted Galing Pook Award.

The city government’s entry to the 2018 Galing Pook Awards was the river rehabilitation project started in 2011.

Mayor Jose Espinosa III personally received the Galing Pook marker (award) and the prize – a check for P100,000.

“We have always included river development in our plans, tourism and environmental programs, business and trade projects, and similar initiatives. We love the Iloilo River. We want our young generation to enjoy its gift,” he said.

Espinosa cited the contributions of city government officials and employees to the project and stakeholders in the public and private sectors that included the academe.

The river development project (rehabilitation) started even years ago in collaboration with national government agencies, nongovernment organizations, academe, and civic society. Its immediate goal was to address siltation, water pollution, encroachment, illegal cutting of mangroves, and informal settlements along the Iloilo River.

“We want friends and visitors to marvel at its transformation and become a testament to the resiliency of Iloilo City,” said Espinosa.

The river development project benefitted – in terms of improved health, ecological sustainability, and sense of security and liveability – over 50,000 residents in 35 barangays living along the Iloilo River.

It was also successful in the relocation of informal settlers along the river banks as well as removal of fish pens which resulted in increased fish population, prevention of soil erosion, and preservation of Iloilo River mangroves’ high biodiversity index.

The river hosts several mangrove species endemic to the area.

The national government also helped fund a flood control project which paved way for the establishment of Iloilo Esplanade at the Iloilo River, the longest walkway in the country.

Now on its 25th year, the Galing Pook Awards selects the best local governance practices and shares information on these beneficial programs for replication.

Aside from Iloilo City, nine other local government untis out of 19 program finalists across the country received the Galing Pook Awards from Vice President Leni Robredo in fitting ceremonies at Novotel Manila, Araneta Center in Quezon City on Oct. 11.

The awards have cited some 319 programs from at least 200 local government units over the years, including this year’s winners, judging them on their positive results and impacts, their empowerment of the people, transferability and sustainability, innovation, and efficiency of their program service delivery.

Other awardees this year were Bindoy, Negros Occidental; Cagayan de Oro City; Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte; Loboc, Bohol; Naga City; Navotas City; San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte; Taguc City, Davao del Norte; and Valenzuela City.

DENR-6 wages war on plastic straws

(TDG, DENR-6)

THE WAR against beating plastic pollution is becoming widespread, awakening the consciousness of people around the world of its dangerous effects.

Many organizations have been campaigning on reducing the use of different kinds of plastics such as sando bags, styrofoam, plastic bottles, plastic utensils and more.

But undeniably, we may have given little attention in eliminating another kind of plastic, a little thing frequently unnoticed and provides a very minimal convenience for a few seconds/minutes. It is a single-use plastic that is quite nonessential – PLASTIC STRAWS.

We may ponder that a single straw isn’t a big issue to be dealt with but let’s do the math. If the current population of the country is 106,989,899 as of October 2018 and each person uses three straws per day, that’s more than 320 million straws every single day! It can nearly fill 82 school buses each day.

In order to raise awareness about our plastic pollution problem, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 6 has launched the “T.H.R.O.W. the Straw: An Environmental Campaign/Drive against plastic pollution” at the Casa Real, Iloilo City, just recently.

T.H.R.O.W. is an abbreviation used for Trim Halt Refuse Omit and Waive the use of Plastic Straw which aims to mitigate and eventually eliminate the use of this short-lived tool. This campaign may substantially bring good numbers in reducing plastic wastes which are the major threats to our drainage and river system which may result to flooding and other environmental issues.

DENR-6 initiated the campaign, in collaboration with the Regional River Basin Management Office and the Iloilo City Government through the City Environment and Natural Resources (ENRO) and municipality of Oton.

Present in the launching were River Basin Control Office (RBCO) Executive Director Antonio M. Daño, Mayor Carina V. Flores of Oton, Iloilo; DENR-6 Conservation and Development Division Chief Danilo L. Lorilla, PENRO-Iloilo chief Arturo Cangrejo, Mayor Jose Romi Marañon of Leganes, Iloilo; MENRO-Oton head Menchie G. Paniergo and Straw Wars Philippines Founder Nikko Paolo V. Calledo.

The activities during the launch are the Ceremonial Cutting of the Straw: Marking the obliteration of plastic straw in our daily use; and Unveiling of Official Poster and Commitment Signing by leaders and stakeholders who signified their support by affixing their signatures on the official poster.

“We may think that this is a small matter but the volume of straw is big thus this is a global concern. We have tapped the Local Government Unit to help us in the regulation plastic straws because they have the power to enact the ordinance,” said DENR-6 Assistant Regional Director for Technical Services Livino B. Duran in his message.

“We are urging the public to take part in this campaign by using and owning alternative straws either made from bamboo, glass, metal or paper to reduce the large number of volume of plastics that clogged our waterways and rivers. Remember, it takes 200 years for this single-use plastic straw to decompose,” said DENR-6 Regional Executive Director Jim O Sampulna.

“Come to think of it. We literally use plastic straws once. Undeniably, straws have been a part of our daily activities. A little change in our usual habit of using plastic straws into alternatives or no straws at all is what we need to do to make a big difference in our fight against plastic pollution,” he added.

Some fast food chains, restaurants and coffee shops in Iloilo City took part in the campaign and have fully expressed their support by refraining from using of plastic straws unless requested by customers.

Iloilo City United Lions Club to Seal Partnership with DSWD

(TDG)

NEWLY-elected Lions President Marvin Espinosa has accepted the call to action of its Keynote Speaker, Social Welfare and Development Assitant Sec. Rhea Peñaflor to forge a sustainable partnership through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Social Welfare and Development and Iloilo City United Lions Club.

Lion President Espinosa expressed the concurrence of the newly-elected officers to the call to action of ASec. Peñaflor during its Induction Ceremony and 27th Charter Anniversary held on Oct. 21, 2018 at the Sta. Barbara Heights Clubhouse.

Lions International’s mission is to empower volunteers to serve their communities, meet humanitarian needs, encourage peace and promote international understanding through Lions clubs and it envisions itself to be the global leader in community and humanitarian service.

DA-6 strengthens relationship with extension workers

By Cindy Ferrer (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) 6 (Western Visayas) gathered some 500 provincial and municipal agriculturists and agricultural extension workers (AEWs) in the region for a three-day congress aimed at strengthening their good working relationships.

The congress, which ended on Wednesday, was anchored on the theme, “Agricultural Development Workers: Catalyst for Sustainable Agriculture and Fishery Community towards Competitiveness and Resiliency”.

In an interview, Manuel Olanday, DA-6 regional technical director, said AEWs play a vital role in ensuring that the department’s projects are implemented, the reason why they wanted to maintain a good relationship with them.

“DA is only at the regional level, so we want to get closer with them. Through them, the delivery of programs and projects of the government is going smooth,” he said.

Olanday said these AEWs are primary workers on the ground, serving farmers associations, disseminating information of various technologies, and providing other agricultural assistance.

They are also assigned to gather production data and provide updates to the regional agriculture office.

Each AEW covers three to four barangays or one is to 800 farmers, he said.

Meanwhile, Olanday noted that this is already the third time that they have initiated the congress and that there has always been fruitful discussions.

Among the results of the congress is the creation of the provincial federation of AEWs in the six provinces of Western Visayas – Aklan, Antique, Negros Occidental, Capiz, Iloilo, and Guimaras.

“We could now enjoy good relationship with them through the direct exchange of communication, especially on their concerns and initiatives on how to further improve their services,” Olanday said.

He also said they have discussed their continuing desire to push the Magna Carta for Agricultural Development Workers.

“We are fighting and initiating something in the Congress and Senate to push the Magna Carta for our agricultural workers, particularly for their protection and continuing professional development,” he said.

The congress was held at the Punta Villa Resort and Convention Center in Arevalo district in this city.

Iloilo town to beef up security for P11.2-B mega dam project

By Cindy Ferrer (PNA)

ILOILO CITY -- The local government of Calinog, Iloilo is requesting for the deployment of police forces that will focus on providing security for the construction of PHP11.2-billion Jalaur River Multipurpose Project (JRMP) II, especially that there are already some Korean contractors on-site.

Mayor Alex Centena is scheduled to meet with Chief Supt. John Bulalacao on Wednesday to discuss the security deployment in his town.

The request came after Centena received information about the alleged presence of members of New People’s Army (NPAs) in the area, particularly in the mountainous villages of Agcalaga, Cahigon and Alibunan.

“I want to ensure the safety of the contractors in the area because I myself could not be complacent of their situation,” he said in an interview.

More than 10 contractors of the Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. are now building their barracks and motor pool at the 10-hectare land.

Centena also said there are heavy equipment deployed in the area like dump trucks, bulldozers and backhoes.

Centena recognized that the Philippine Army has also deployed personnel in their town, but he said that stay-in police forces would further beef-up the security.

He assumed that rebels are against the construction of the long-overdue multi-billion dam project, which groundbreaking ceremony has no fixed chedule up to this moment.

A contract was signed between the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and Daewoo Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd last month.

Meantime, Centena appealed to the public to help in pushing through with the project.

“If you want to work, you will be our priority,” he said, adding that NIA is continuously hiring workers for the construction of the project.

The construction is expected to generate jobs for around 17,000 workers composed of engineers, carpenters, welders, masons and drivers of heavy equipment.

Aside from the project, Centena said security also covers other investments coming in at their town.

“If we could not maintain peace in our area, we will have bad image among investors especially that there are foreign investors coming in,” he said.

The interested investors among others include banks, fast food chain and mall.

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