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==DOT gears up for PWDs accessible tourism==
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/iloilo/local-news/2014/11/10/dot-gears-pwds-accessible-tourism-375723
*Monday, November 10, 2014
: By Lydia C. Pendon
THE Department of Tourism-Western Visayas is gearing up for accessible tourism awareness program for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in all tourism facilities and destinations in the Philippines.
DOT Regional Director Helen Catalbas said, that in line with the agency’s commitment to promote a barrier-free tourism industry, the Office of Tourism Standards and Regulations, DOT central office, the regional office, and the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA) will conduct a two-day seminar workshop on November 17 and 18, 2014 at the Hotel del Rio, Iloilo City.
Catalbas said the seminar aims to provide basic information on accessible tourism and create awareness in the tourism industry in dealing with the needs of PWDs.
The first day will focus on the regional forum on accessible tourism with an overview of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and NCDA mandates making tourism establishments accessible to PWDs, universal design for barrier-free tourism, non-handicapping environment, and web accessibility.
The seminar will conduct sensitivity training of elderly PWDs, including those that are orthopedically handicapped, visual and hearing impaired.
The second day seminar will deal on disability perspective and universal design with acting NCDA Executive Director Carmen Reyes-Zubiaga and key mandates in disabilities with NCDA chief Rizalino Sanchez of the Information, Education and Communication Division.
The afternoon session will focus on practical and appropriate ways in handling PWDs.
A certificate of participation will be awarded to each participant of both seminars.
==Implement integrated coastal management plan, LGUs urged==
*Source: http://panaynewsphilippines.com/2014/11/09/implement-integrated-coastal-management-plan-lgus-urged/
*Sunday, November 9, 2014
: (PIA-Iloilo/PN)
ILOILO City Coastal resources are complex and no coastal areas are the same as to habitats and the kind of protection needed.
Likewise, bays and coastal areas have no boundaries so it needs concerted and integrated planning among the local government units (LGUs) to synchronize ordinances and programs.
Conrado Marquez, regional technical director for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)-6 Wildlife Protection, Protected Areas and Costal Management Service, said that they are assisting the LGUs in coming up with their Integrated Coastal Resource Management Plan.
The three major coastal habitats are mangroves, sea grasses and corrals, which should be protected and preserved as they serve as home for coastal fishery resources.
Western Visayas is rich in coastal marine resources, it being part of the Visayan Sea, one of the richest fishing grounds in the country.
“Although rich, the country, being an archipelago with long coastlines, is also vulnerable to sea level rise and increase in sea temperatures causing corral bleaching, destroying the homes for fishes,” said Marquez.
In Iloilo, there are 115 marine protected areas and these have been assessed as to their vulnerability to changes in the weather.
Meanwhile, the Integrated Coastal Management plans, with corresponding budgets, have provisions for mechanisms in mobilizing, harmonizing and strengthening the programs of the LGUs.
As to enforcement of common laws and ordinances, the LGUs and the DENR work with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.
Further, they collaborate to build the capacity of the LGUs in running their local structures tasked to work for the preservation and protection of marine resources.
==Rehab continues in storm-hit areas==
*Source: http://panaynewsphilippines.com/2014/11/08/rehab-continues-in-storm-hit-areas/
*Saturday, November 8, 2014
:By RAYMART ESCOPEL (PN)
ILOILO City — Rehabilitation efforts are still ongoing in super typhoon “Yolanda”-affected areas in Western Visayas a year after the monster howler battered the region, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said.
Initiatives aimed at rebuilding the lives of the survivors like livelihood projects continue, according to Judith Barredo, DSWD regional focal person on disaster risk reduction and management.
A total of P10,854,407 worth of livelihood assistance was given to 1,279 beneficiaries in six provinces in the region, she said.
Among the livelihood projects are:
:•  rag and furniture making, seaweed farming, rice retailing, food vending, livestock raising, dress making, and food processing in Antique
:•  calamansi growing, piña weaving, handicraft making, planting, and putting up fish cages in Aklan
:•  oyster aquaculture, buy-and-sell of fish and rice, and sari-sari store in Capiz
:•  bobo (fish trap) making, fishing, sewing, organic farming, vegetable production, and handicraft making in Iloilo, and
:•  trade and commerce, and fishing and crabbing in Negros Occidental.
DSWD has also provided survivors with motorboats (coastal areas) and pedicabs.
As of Nov. 5, the Social Welfare department has given out P1,621,903,584.42 worth of aid to 84 identified typhoon-affected areas, said Barredo.
The amount includes early relief and recovery efforts such rice augmentation, transfer of funds to local government units, and payouts to survivors, among others.
A total of 563,383 families benefitted.
Of the number, 211,002 families were from Iloilo; 143,288 from Capiz; 93,401 from Aklan; 61,150 from Negros Occidental; 53,891 from Antique; and 651 from Guimaras.
Meanwhile, for the Cash for Work for Early Recovery, DSWD distributed P5,096,000 to 2,450 families, said Barredo.
DSWD has also provided 9,840 families with shelter projects worth a total of P29,756,160, including 20 bunkhouses (worth a total of P16,720,000) for 240 families in Estancia and Concepcion. Each bunkhouse unit has 12 rooms.
Moreover, several international humanitarian groups and nongovernment organizations built 644 units of permanent houses for typhoon survivors in Capiz and Iloilo.
Barredo said the pace of rehabilitation and the sustainability of livelihood assistance depend on the availability of funds.
==Iloilo City awards students, schools in tax info drive==
*Source: :http://www.sunstar.com.ph/iloilo/local-news/2014/11/07/iloilo-city-awards-students-schools-tax-info-drive-375203
*Friday, November 7, 2014
:By Lydia C. Pendon
THE Iloilo City Government has awarded ten students and 14 schools in its campaign on tax information education spearheaded by the city’s assessor’s office.
Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog presented the certificates during the awarding ceremony at the Grand Hotel in Iloilo City.
This year’s theme is “Enhancing tax consciousness among students through tax information education campaign.”
The participating public high schools were SPED-ISEC, R. Avancena National High School (RANHS), TCT-AR Foundation and Integrated School, Iloilo City Community College (ICC), Lapaz National High School (LNHS), Jaro National High School (JNHS), Buntatala National High School (BNHS), Fort San Pedro National High School (FSPNHS), RG Hechanova National High School, Mandurriao National High School (MNHS), Bo. Obrero National High School (BONHS), Melchor L. Nava Memorial National High School (MLMNHS) and Jalandoni National High School (JNHS).
The awarded students were: Ma. Nievel Adio of ICNHS, Vanessa Sampiano of MNHS, Jasnell Oclares of ICNHS, Jonas Fernandez of RANHS, Ariel Lorenz Castronuevo of JNHS, Mary Ann Dichosa of RGHNHS, Grace Joy Manalo of ICNHS, Lowella Marie Pabalinas of RANHS, Lyka Hisu-an of JNHS, and Lorenzo Angelo Borda of SPED-ISEC.
==Iloilo, JCI team-up to make women’s rights real==
*Source: :http://www.sunstar.com.ph/iloilo/local-news/2014/11/06/iloilo-jci-team-make-women-s-rights-real-375106
*Thursday, November 6, 2014
:By Jezza A. Nepomoceno (Capitol News)
THE Gender and Development Program (GAD) of the Provincial Government is tying up with the Junior Chamber International-Iloilo Ilang-Ilang in putting flesh to the rights of women.
Alma Ravena, the Vice President of the Technical Working Group of GAD, said the newly formed alliance will work on the realization of women empowerment through the program dubbed as “All About Her” of JCI-Iloilo Ilang-Ilang.
All About Her will be launch at 9 a.m. Friday (November 7) at Conference Room, 5th floor of Iloilo Provincial Capitol with Governor Arthur Defensor Sr. and Provincial Board Member Shalene Palmares-Hidalgo as guests.
The program basically aims to provide solutions to specific issues concerning legal rights, health and economic development of women from all walks of life in the city and province of Iloilo.
On its first year, the program will provide technical assistance to the members of Kalipunan ng Liping Pilipina, a women’s organization in the province aimed at assisting the women and the youth with community activities and livelihood programs.
The launching of partnership in making women’s right real will then be followed by the signing of pledge of commitment between the province and the civic group.
A talk on women’s health, specifically on the signs and symptoms of menopause, by Dr. Fredilyn Samoro, will be held thereafter.
Lawyer Jojie Balume will also lecture on Magna Carta of Women, while Joy Palmada, the manager of Pavia Entrepreneur’s Multipurpose Cooperative, will likewise talk on women empowerment.
Aside from the seminar, JCI-Iloilo Ilang-Ilang President Atty. Essy Genebelle Antonano said they will also hold the first ever all-female run in Iloilo on November 8 at 5 a.m. in Diversion Road, Iloilo City.
The fun run, in partnership with the City Government, is expecting one thousand runners in three- and six-kilometer run.
Antonano said 20 percent of proceeds of the fun run will be used to purchase solar panels for the fisher folks affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda in Sitio Bat-os, Concepcion, Iloilo.
==Dance exercise, fun walk to usher envt’l celebrations==
*Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/931415166619/dance-exercise-fun-walk-to-usher-envt-l-celebrations
*Wednesday, November 5, 2014
:(JCM/LAF/PIA6)
ILOILO CITY, Nov. 5 (PIA6) - - More than three hundred people are expected to converge on Saturday, November 8 at the Iloilo River Esplanade in the district of Mandurriao here for a morning dance exercise and fun walk.
The activities will usher in the celebrations of the three environmental events in Western Visayas this November, which include the National Clean Air Month, National Environmental Awareness Month and the Climate Change Consciousness Week on November 19 to 25.
Rabbie Chris Carvajal, Information Officer of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources – Environmental Management Bureau 6 said they have invited the national government agencies, different universities and the Metro Iloilo Airshed to send participants.
To further spur awareness and action of local communities on the preservation of coastal ecosystems, a Mangrove Tree planting will be conducted at Brgy. Hinactacan, Lapaz on November 25.
Around two hundred mangrove trees were prepared to be planted by residents in the community, members of the Metro Iloilo Airshed and the personnel of the Panay Energy Development Corporation.
The month of November is declared as Environmental Awareness Month pursuant to Republic Act 9512 or the National Environmental Awareness and Education Act of 2008 which calls for the integration of environmental education in the curricula in all levels.
Carvajal said to arm students with knowledge and information on environmental preservation and protection at an early stage is essential in efforts to combat global warming and climate change.
Along this line an Environmental Quiz Bee will be held on November 27 involving elementary students from the seven local government units that comprised the Metro Iloilo Guimaras Economic Development Council. These LGUs are the municipalities of Pavia, San Miguel, Oton, Sta. Barbara, Leganes, Iloilo City and Guimaras.
The November environmental events will be guided by the theme “Environmental Sustainability: Moving into greater actions”.
==Renewable energy can mitigate climate change - DOE==
*Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2421415083784/renewable-energy-can-mitigate-climate-change---doe
*Tuesday, November 4, 2014
:(JCM/LTP/PIA-Iloilo)
ILOILO CITY, November 4 (PIA) ---  The Department of Energy (DOE) said that the usage of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro and geothermal for the country’s power supply, can mitigate climate change and reduce negative environmental impact.
In a PIA interview, Mario Marasigan, Director IV, Renewable Energy Management Bureau of DOE, said that the utilization of renewable energy resources can hugely contribute to addressing environment and climate change concerns.
“As part of our mandate in accordance with the Renewable Energy Act of 2008, we are pushing for an accelerated development of power renewable energy resources all over the country,” he said.
He said renewable energy sources should be part of our energy and power mix in terms of utilization.
“Our main policy for the development of our renewable energy resources is to reduce our dependence on imported fossil fuels,” he said.
“At the same time, if we are already independent and we have reduced our importation of fossil fuels, more or less, we can achieve energy security,” he also said.
He said that usage of renewable energy sources can also lessen our vulnerability on international pricing.
In Western Visayas, there are major renewable energy projects being built that will assure sufficient power supply in the region.
In Guimaras, 27 windmills are expected to be completed by end of November under the San Lorenzo Windfarm Project by the Trans-Asia Renewable Energy Corporation (TAREC) that will generate 54 MW power.
San Carlos Solar Energy (SaCaSol) Inc.’s solar plant in Negros Occidental province is expected to start operating by end of the year, providing 22 MW of energy.
In Iloilo, 5.67-megawatt solar power plant will be established in Miagao town by COSMO Solar Energy Inc. and is expected to be finished by March 2015.
==P37-M livelihood assistance released==
*Source: http://panaynewsphilippines.com/2014/11/03/p37-m-livelihood-assistance-released/
*Sunday, November 3, 2014
:(PNA)
ILOILO City – Ninety-eight checks in the total amount of P36,605,536 were handed out to various proponents of livelihood projects in Western Visayas.
Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz led the distribution during the reorientation on DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP) Guidelines at the Sarabia Manor Hotel and Convention Center here on Oct. 29.
The checks will fund approved project proposals that aim to improve the proponents’ economies of scale through community-based enterprises.
Of the total, 58 checks in the amount of P17,497,689 were turned over to 54 proponents from the province of Iloilo while 12 checks worth P8,218,986 were handed over to 11 proponents from Negros Occidental.
Eight checks amounting to P4,997,139 were released to six proponents from Aklan while P3,635,550 worth of livelihood assistance were released to 17 proponents from Capiz.
Three proponents from Guimaras received checks amounting P2,256,171 for various livelihood projects in support of the Pier to Port or P2P project implementation.
Iloilo province’s 58 livelihood endeavors consist mostly of projects under the Tulong Pangkabuhayan Sa Ating Displaced/Disadvantaged (TUPAD) program intended for the reconstruction of public utilities and infrastructures of proponent local government units in northern Iloilo severely affected by typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) last year.
These projects will benefit 3,089 unemployed, out of school youths and differently-abled persons who will be hired as workers to undertake the projects.
Three projects under the Kabuhayan program in Guimaras include native bag production and marketing, saba banana production and processing, and seaweed processing project aimed to benefit 575 local residents.
Assistance for Negros Occidental and Capiz will mostly go to the rehabilitation of public utilities under the Yolanda Rehabilitation and Recovery Program where 3,264 unemployed and displaced workers will be given emergency employment.
Livelihood assistance released for Aklan will benefit 710 unemployed workers and marginalized fisherfolks. Projects assisted are capture fishing and aquaculture, oysters, fish cage and mud crab fattening and emergency employment.
==Congressmen: Move to probe ‘overpriced’ Iloilo building linked to 2016 elections==
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/congressmen-move-to-probe-overpriced-iloilo-building-linked-to-2016-elections/
*Sunday, November 2, 2014
:By Charissa Luci
Congressmen said yesterday that the call to investigate the allegedly overpriced Iloilo Convention Center (ICC) is tainted with politics; with some saying it is just a witchhunt.
Members of the House of Representatives gave this cold response after Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero called on his colleagues in the Senate as well as congressmen to investigate the ICC in the wake of a graft and plunder complaint filed against Senate President Franklin Drilon and nine others for alleged overpricing.
Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali said, “What is there to investigate? Hindi naman si Senator Drilon ang nag-implement niyan. At the end of the day, I am seeing that these things happen because the 2016 election is coming. This is all about politics.”
:WITCHHUNT?
In opposing Escudero’s call, Deputy Minority Leader and Isabela Rep. Rodito Albano even cracked a joke, “It’s Halloween, maybe he wants to go on a witchhunt.”
“Unless there’s a Makati building-type of evidence, we have no intention of investigating the Iloilo Convention Center,” Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.  said in an interview.
“Bakit kami? We have other better legislative things to do,” Majority Leader and Mandaluyong Rep. Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II said.
When Congress resumes session on Nov. 17 from the three-week Halloween break, the House of Representatives is expected to tackle the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), Resolution of both Houses No. 1 or economic Charter change (Cha-cha), and House Bill 3587 (an Act Prohibiting the Establishment of Political Dynasties).
AKO Bicol party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe also thinks that it would be better if the Senate, not the House conducts the investigation.
“Let the senators investigate their own. As a matter of courtesy, the House should give way to the Senate to investigate its peer and not the House, especially so that the Senate President is involved,” he pointed out.
:IS THERE BASIS?
Deputy Majority Leader and Citizens Battle against Corruption party-list Rep. Sherwin Tugna, for his part, said any probe, be it in the House and Senate, “should always be in aid of legislation and not in aid of re-election or besmirching a possible political opponent.”
“For me, before a probe of the Iloilo Convention be made, there should be a strong basis that it is in aid of legislation and not in aid of publicity of the prober,” he stressed.
Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., chairman of the House Committee on Justice, agreed with Tugna, saying that the appropriate House panel should first find sufficient basis before conducting a probe.
“I think that issue is under the jurisdiction of the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability. It’s up to the chair of the committee to conduct a probe on the matter but the panel should first look if there is sufficient evidence to conduct a legislative investigation considering that there could be a political angle on that issue,” he said.
:HILMARCS INCLUDED
Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon had earlier filed House Resolution 1466 that calls for the conduct of a congressional inquiry into alleged overpricing of the ICC.
He had earlier said the House leadership assured him that the investigation sought by HR 1466 will push through.
Just like Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, who had earlier filed the same resolution, Ridon sought an inquiry into the involvement of Hilmarcs Construction Corp. in the construction of the ICC, and for clinching several big-ticket government projects.
Hilmarcs is the same contractor that won the bidding for the Makati City Hall Building II.
Under her Senate Resolution No. 906, Santiago noted that the ICC was funded partly out of Drilon’s P200-million allocation from his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in 2012 and P100-million from Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) in 2013.
Escudero had earlier asked the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired Sen. Teofisto Guingona III, to show same enthusiasm in investigating the ICC controversy in the same manner it is probing the controversial Makati City Hall Building II.
The call was made after detained Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada’s challenged Guingona’s panel to investigate the ICC controversy “motu propio” in accordance with the Senate rules.
==DOH bats for exclusive breastfeeding for babies==
*Source: http://panaynewsphilippines.com/2014/11/01/doh-bats-for-exclusive-breastfeeding-for-babies/
*Saturday, November 1, 2014
:(PIA-Iloilo/PN)
 
ILOILO City – The Department of Health (DOH) advocates exclusive breastfeeding – giving a baby only breast milk and no other liquids or solids, not even water in the first six months of life.
“The best breast milk is the one women produce in the first few days after delivery. It is thick and yellowish or clear in color,” said Health undersecretary Janette Garin during the Kalusugan Pangkalahatan Roadshow held recently in San Joaquin, Iloilo.
Breast milk contains the perfect nutrients that could protect babies against infection, stressed Garin, a doctor by profession.
It helps prevent bacterial infections that are a danger to newborn babies, and provides the first immunization against many of the diseases that babies face after the delivery, she added.
Breastfeeding also allows a woman to easily return to her original figure after giving birth, Garin said.
The DOH official also encouraged women to consume iodized salt during their pregnancy.
Iodized salt enables mothers to increase their babies’ intelligence quotient by at least 10 percent, she said.
“If you want to make your babies smarter, use iodized salt when you are pregnant,” she said to pregnant mothers.
DOH’s “Kalusugan Pangkalahatan” Roadshow focused on mothers, youth and adolescents, men and elderly through a festive event that offers health services and awareness raising activities.
Garin is expected to temporarily assume as DOH chief. President Benigno Aquino III reportedly granted Health secretary Enrique Ona’s request to go on a medical leave.
Ona, appointed in July 2010 after serving as executive director of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, personally asked the President’s permission to take a leave of absence during a Cabinet meeting on Monday in Malacañang, sources revealed.
President Aquino apparently granted the 75-year-old secretary’s request; his leave starts after All Souls’ Day, sources said.
Malacañang, however, has yet to confirm Garin’s new appointment.
Garin, former congresswoman of Iloilo’s 1st District, was appointed as Health undersecretary July last year.
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