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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.

DA sets up rubber center

by HMH


MANILA, Philippines — Government is establishing the Philippine Rubber Research Institute (PRRI) in a 1,000-hectare area in Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay to maximize the potential of the crop.

The site will be donated by the provincial government of Zamboanga Sibugay, according to Gov. Rommel A. Jalosjos.

Located near the Mindanao State University (MSU) campus in Naga, PRRI will help boost rubber’s potential in light of industrial manufacturers’ preference for nature-friendly materials as a climate change-mitigating effort.

PRRI will institutionalize and sustain researches funded by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR).

These total to 10 programs spread across rubber-growing provinces Zamboanga, Cotabato, and Basilan, according to BAR director Dr. Nicomedes P. Eleazar.

“PRRI should become at par with the rubber institutes in Malaysia, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and China that have been developing new superior rubber varieties,” Eleazar said.

These research centers have produced rubber clones that are high-yielding, disease-resistant, and with reduced gestation period that allows latex extraction in 4.5 years, much shorter than the five to 10 years range.

BAR is supporting the issuance of an implementing rules and regulation for PRRI which will precede budget allocation, according to BAR coordinator Rudy L. Galang.

“With the draft IRR to be submitted for approval by DA Secretary Proceso Alcala, the national government will allocate a budget of P100 Million for PRRI for 2012, its first year of implementation. This is equivalent to one percent of the gross value added of rubber,” said Galang.

PRRI will enhance rubber research and development programs including establishment of a nursery or a garden for budwood, a shoot or stem of a plant bearing buds suitable for bud grafting.

To enhance farmers’ management practices, they will be trained on fertilization, weed, insect, and disease control, control of mollusks and vertebrates, harvesting, and packing of budwoods and budsticks.

The facilities that will be available in the PRRI are tissue culture laboratory, rubber testing laboratory, product testing laboratory, seedling nurseries, germplasm collections, semi-processing plants, waste water collection and testing facilities. DA will share with PRRI the use of some of these facilities found in DA’s provincial office in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay

“What is important here is a good amount of land where we will test for superior varieties of rubber and grow massive amount of seedlings,” said Galang.

The country’s average dry rubber yield at present is around 1.5 metric tons (MT) per hectare, which is lower than the maximum potential of RRIM 600 of two MT per hectare per year.

The 1,000-hectare area will primarily be an experimental station for breeding and selection of high yielding cultivars.

“New genetic materials should be collected from rubber producing countries to enable plant breeders to develop new clones that will perform well even in non-traditional areas,” said Eleazar.

Collaboration with other countries is aimed to generate good varieties resistant to drought and strong wind, enabling planting in coastal areas.

Genetic engineering and biotechnology will be used to generate value-added pharmaceutical products and special industrial-type latex. Quality control and marketing schemes, and environment-friendly and pollution-free manufacturing systems will be established.

PRRI will serve as a certification and testing center for rubber.




2 of 7 Ipil gas stations obtain compliance certificate - DOE

by Zamboanga Today


IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay - Out of the seven (7) gasoline refilling stations in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay only two (2) have complete documents for the procurement of a compliance certificate from the DOE. This is what Fred Paclar, a representative from the Department of Energy (DOE)-Field Office based in Davao City said in an interview.

Paclar, together with other representatives from the DOE, visited the municipality of Ipil for a calibration and general inspection of all existing gasoline refilling stations which was personally requested by the Committee Chairman for Trade and Industry of the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) of Ipil, SB Member Alberto Alcoriza, Jr.

During the inspection, the DOE Inspecting Team checked every pumping gas station. A calibration bucket was used by the DOE personnel to see if the pumping stations refills accurately.

According to Paclar, all pumping stations should be calibrated to ensure accurate readings on the quantity of gasoline products that customers get from gas refilling stations.

He further said that the DOE team also got samples of the gasoline products from every gasoline refilling station to check if certain standards are followed like octane levels, etc.

“We are very particular with the accuracy of the pumping stations so that the consumers get quality gasoline products and accurate quantity so we are strictly implementing standards in our calibrations and sampling”, said Paclar. The samples are set to be sent to the National Office of the DOE for laboratory tests and the results along with the recommendations from the said government agency will be sent to the concerned gas refilling station.

SB Member Alcoriza also expressed his thanks to the DOE team for answering his call for a calibration and general inspection to the gasoline stations in Ipil to protect the interests of the consumers as well as the owners and operators of the said gas stations because they can check whether their services need improvement and their facilities more upgrading and standardization.

Alcoriza also explained that the safety and protection of the motorists and the public as a whole is also one of the main reasons why the inspection was conducted.

“I am thankful that the DOE never failed Ipil in its request for an inspection because we really need this kind of activity every now and then for us to protect the interest of our business operators and more importantly the public. The safety of the Ipileños as well as the Sibugaynons is also one of our reasons why we requested for this inspection”, explained Alcoriza.

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Chief, Edito Lumacang, and other representatives from the Municipal Treasurer’s Office of Ipil also came along with the DOE Inspecting Team to personally witness the inspection.

However, Paclar and his team were slightly dismayed when the result of the inspection revealed that there were some pumping stations that have inaccurate readings in their refilling of gasoline products. The DOE team immediately sealed the said defective gas pumping stations and imposed penalties to the owners and operators.

“We have no choice but to implement sanctions on these gas stations because they have violated our regulations. The penalty is also based from the existing national mandate from the DOE and the owners can only reopen their sealed gas pumping stations if they would fix them and pass another calibration test and after paying penalties imposed on them”, Paclar pointed out.

Gas stations that have incomplete papers for securing the compliance certificate of the DOE were also given sanctions and further recommendations to completely satisfy the requirements set by the DOE for a gas refilling station.

Some motorists appreciated the inspection conducted by the local government of Ipil through the DOE because it also gave them the chance to identify gas stations with defective pumping stations and patronize those that have accurate and quality gasoline products.

Alcoriza concluded that the result of the inspection would prompt him to fully and religiously enforce and implement standard schedules of calibration and inspection to all gas stations which is every six (6) months.

“We will be very strict now and follow the standard schedule for inspection and calibration which is every six months”, ended Alcoriza.

Gas station pumps are regulated by the government by a bureau or division centered on standards and weights. In the Philippines, the DOE regulates and inspects gas stations to keep the sale of gasoline fair for consumers. Inspections are routinely done throughout the year for retail gas stations. Tests are employed to check calibration of the pumps to ensure a fair meter count and quality of the product.

Forest campaign

by Mindanao Newsbits


IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay (PIA) – Natives or indigenous people of Sitio Tiling, Barangay San Fernandino, R.T. Lim town, Zamboanga Sibugay, welcomed the representatives from the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) for a session of awareness and orientation on the important points of the Certificate of Forest Stewardship Agreement that was held recently.

A team of CENRO personnel headed by Serena Cabrera went to the remote area to teach people living in forested areas on the importance of forest preservation.

Tourist police gets DOT TOPCOP training

by Jocelyn P. Alvarez


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Sept. 25 (PIA) -- Some 60 policemen directly assigned and involved in protecting and looking after the welfare of tourists got a “Tourist Oriented Police for Community Order and Protection” (TOPCOP) training from the Department of Tourism (DOT). The recently conducted three day training was held at the Police Regional Office (PRO) 9 in Camp Romeo Abendan, Barangay Mercedes, here. The training involved handling and approaching tourists, basic courtesy, securing tourist destinations, and differences in culture and traditions. Lecturers/trainers include: P/Sr. Supt. Christian Haveria- Asistant Chief Public Safety Division and Chief Tourist Safety and Protection from the Philippine National Police- National Headquarters in Manila; Dr. Susan Reyes-Anthropologist and Director of Philosophy; Luz Navarro-Team North America of DOT; and Mila Say of DOT Planning Division. Training participants include Tourist Police, Aviation Security Group and police from the Regional Office IX . DOT Regional Director Mary June Bugante said the training was just in time for the city’s grandest annual event-the Fiesta Pilar celebration or Zamboanga Hermosa Festival this October. It is during this October festivity month where hundreds if not thousands of tourists are expected to visit the city for the various activities lined up for the event. (JPA/PIA 9-Zambo City

Fishpond operators receive 500,000 Tilapia fingerlings

by PIA Press Release


IPIL, Zamboanga Sibugay, September 24 -- Fishpond operators and owners wore happy faces when they received their share of the more or less 500,000 of Saline Tolerant Tilapia fingerlings displayed in front of the Provincial Office of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Barangay Sanito, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay during the distribution of the tilapia fingerlings on August 31, 2011. Henry Lopez, Chief of the Fisheries Division of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist (OPAg) of Zamboanga Sibugay said the government’s program of granting small and big time fishpond owners and operators tilapia fingerlings is a very big help to the since they (fishpond operators) really need all the support that they can get to recover from great losses in the previous years. “I am very happy to bear the good news that BFAR granted these people from the fishpond industry tilapia fingerlings for their respective fishpond areas because these people need to recover from overwhelming losses in the past years”, said Lopez. It can be recalled that fishpond operators and owners in Sibugay asked the help of the government for assistance because of the frequent rise of the water level in the rivers which caused some fishpond areas to overflow destroying everything inside the fishpond which resulted to great loss of income. Some operators and owners even resorted to selling their fishpond areas because they can no longer sustain the financial needs to rehabilitate or repair their destroyed fishpond areas. However, many operators are still trying to recover from the great losses and the national government through BFAR extended its help by distributing the tilapia fingerlings. The recipients were given bags which contained more or less 1,600 Saline Tolerant Tilapia fingerlings. The number of bags each fish pond operator received depended on the size of their fishpond area. “The bigger the area, the more bags given and we already have the list of the names of the beneficiaries all over Zamboanga Sibugay through the help of the Municipal Agriculturists of every recipient-municipality”, explained Oscar Moreno, BFAR-Sibugay Fisheries and Aquatic Technician. Seven municipalities were the recipients of the tilapia fingerlings wherein two of the recipient-municipalities received more due to the size of their fishpond areas. The municipalities of Ipil, Naga, Kabasalan, Siay, R.T. Lim, Malangas and Alicia were the municipalities that were granted tilapia fingerlings from BFAR and the two municipalities that received the biggest share were Siay and Kabasalan with more or less 100,000 tilapia fingerlings each. Estrella Macapobre, BFAR-Sibugay Provincial Head hoped that that somehow the losses from the previous years will be augmented and fishpond owners may be able to recover soon. Macapobre also added that in the market each of the tilapia fingerlings it costs P0.25 (twenty five centavos) and each bag that contained more or less 1,600 fingerlings amounts to P400, a big savings on the part of the operators and owners and a significant increase of income after three to four months. “This can result to a very huge impact on the fishpond industry here in our province because they will have bigger chances of recovering”, Macapobre pointed out. (Paulnazer Lontua/ALT-PIA9/Zambo Sur)

Truck-bus collision in Zamboanga Sibugay kills 4, injures 21

by PhilStar.com


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Four elementary school pupils died while 21 others were injured when the vehicle they were riding on the way to attend a jamboree collided with a passenger bus in Zamboanga Sibugay province, military and police officials disclosed Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) spokesman, disclosed the incident took place around 2:50 p.m. Wednesday in Sitio Gusawan, Barangay Monching in Siay, Zamboanga Sibugay province.

Zamboanga Peninsula police director Chief Supt. Elpidio de Asis said the boy scouts, at the time, were on board the municipal dump truck of Mabuhay municipality, Zamboanga Sibugay.

Investigation showed the dump truck was going to a regional boy scouts jamboree in Ipil town, the capital of Zamboanga Sibugay, when it collided with the Rural Transit passenger bus in Sitio Gusawan.

The passenger bus from Zamboanga City with body number 9146 is bound for Pagadian City, the capital of Zamboanga del Sur province.

The pupils were to attend the week-long regional jamboree of the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) in Ipil set on Friday, Sept. 23, until Sept. 29.

Kidnapped businesswoman rescued

8September 20, 2011 12:00 AM

by Alexsi Romero


MANILA, Philippines - Elite military troops yesterday rescued a businesswoman who was abducted by members of the Abu Sayyaf in Zamboanga Sibugay province this month. Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman for the Armed Forces Western Mindanao Command, said the victim, identified as Luisa Galvez-Morrison, was rescued by Scout Ranger troops in Sumisip, Basilan at about 3 p.m. Before the rescue operation, members of the 4th Scout Ranger battalion had been verifying reports about the presence of armed men in Barangay Baiwas in Sumisip town. “Upon reaching the area, firefight ensued against the armed group who later on turned out to be group of Abu Sayyaf sub-leader Radzmer Temmeng Jannatul and Sub-ldr Juhayver,” Cabangbang said in a text message. One soldier identified as Pfc. Arjae de Ramos was wounded during the clash. Cabangbang said the Abu Sayyaf had Morrison in custody when the encounter happened. “According to reports on the ground, Abu Sayyaf members Abu Sa-id, Abdul Aziz and a certain Mukim were killed while seven others were wounded,” he said. Cabangbang said Morrison, a common law wife of a British national, suffered injuries in her legs during the clash. She is now in safe condition and is recovering at the base of the 4th Scout Ranger Battalion. Morrison, 34, is the owner of RL Salon and Spa and a resident of Barangay Magdaup in Ipil town. She was kidnapped by three unidentified armed men on Sept. 4.

Research institute in Zamboanga Sibugay to improve rubber production

by Anna Valmero


NAGA, ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY – The Philippine Rubber Research Institute (PRRI) will be established in a 1,000-hectare area in this town to develop products for the export market.

PRRI will help boost the country’s potential for rubber exports given the strong preference of industrial manufacturers for environment-friendly materials in efforts to mitigate climate change, said Dr. Nicomedes P. Eleazar, director of Bureau of Agricultural Research at the Department of Agriculture (DA-BAR).

The project is important for the country’s bid to expand production from the current 130,000 hectares of rubber farms in the country to meet global demands of 12.4 million metric tons by 2020.

“PRRI should become at par with the rubber institutes in Malaysia, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and China that have been developing new superior rubber varieties,” Eleazar said.

These research centers in neigboring countries have produced rubber “clones” that are high-yielding, disease-resistant and with reduced gestation period that allows latex extraction in 4 to 5 years, much shorter than the average range of 5 to 10 years range, according to Eleazar.

Genetic engineering and biotechnology will be used to generate value-added pharmaceutical products and special industrial-type latex at PRRI. With the new cultivars to be developed, local rubber farmers could improve their income; world market prices is very attractive at $4,000 to $5,000 per metric ton for semi-processed rubber.

Based on the draft IRR (implementing rules and regulations), to be submitted for approval by DA secretary Proceso Alcala, the national government will allocate a budget of P100 Million for PRRI for 2012 during its first year of implementation, said DA BAR coordinator Rudy Galang.

“The amount is equivalent to one percent of the gross value added of rubber,” said Galang.

Galang added that PRRI will further rubber research and development programs including establishment of a nursery garden for budwood, a plant shoot or stem suitable for bud grafting.

To enhance farmers’ management practices, they will be trained on fertilization, control of weed, insect and plant disease, control of mollusks and vertebrates, harvesting, and packing of budwoods and budsticks.

The PRRI will include facilities such as tissue culture laboratory, rubber testing laboratory, product testing laboratory, seedling nurseries, germplasm collections, semi-processing plants, waste water collection and testing facilities, said Galang.

“What is important here is a good amount of land in Zamboanga Sibugay where we will test for superior varieties of rubber and grow massive amount of seedlings,” said Galang. He said the 1,000-hectare area will primarily be an experimental station for breeding and selection of high yielding cultivars.

At present, the country’s average dry rubber yield is 1.5 metric tons per hectare, which is lower than the maximum potential for RRIM 600 variety of two metric tons per hectare each year.

Collaboration with other countries is aimed to generate good varieties resistant to drought and strong wind, enabling planting in coastal areas, said Eleazar.

Kidnappers free boy, 9, in Zambo Sibugay

by Roel Pareño


Kidnappers free boy, 9, in Zambo Sibugay By Roel Pareño The Philippine Star Updated September 16, 2011 12:00 AM 0 comment to this post ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Kidnappers freed a nine-year-old boy they had held captive for more than six months, in a village in Zamboanga Sibugay the other day, police said.

The boy was released along the highway in Barangay Kitabog in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay at around 1:45 a.m. Wednesday and was picked up by police intelligence agents, said Chief Superintendent Elpedio de Asis, Region 9 police director based here.

De Asis said the boy was brought to the police intelligence headquarters for medical checkup and debriefing before he was reunited with his family.

De Asis could not say if ransom was paid in exchange for the release of the boy, who was seized last March 9 while on his way home from school in Titay town.

The kidnappers, who had brought the boy to Basilan, initially demanded P25-million ransom from his family.

The ransom though was later lowered to P5 million, according to the local crisis committee.

The boy’s family had sought for proof of life, and the kidnappers sent a video clip showing him crying while holding an M-16 rifle.

De Asis directed the police forces in Zamboanga Sibugay to track down the boy’s kidnappers and “bring them before the bar of justice.”

Meanwhile, there is still no word on a salon owner who was snatched in Ipil town last Sept. 4.

Director Felicisimo Khu, chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operation for Western Mindanao, said there has been no contact yet from the kidnappers of Luicita Galvez Morrison, 34, owner of RL Salon. Morrison’s live-in partner is a British national.

1,900 studes attend reproductive health symposium

by Paulnazer Lontua


ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, Sept. 15 (PIA) -- More or less 1,900 students of Sibugay Technical Institute Incorporated (STII), a local school in Ipil, attended the one-day symposium on adolescent reproductive health recently held at the STII Gymnasium in Barangay Lower Taway, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay through the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) and HealthPRO. According to Erwin Cenas, STII School Registrar, the school was grateful that majority of the students responded to their invitation and just manifests that most of the young generation are eager to learn about reproductive health. “We actually have a 98% attendance now and this is a very good sign that our students here welcome reproductive health education and are eager to learn new things”, Cenas said. Resource speakers who are experts in their respective fields tackled fertility awareness, men’s health and involvement, reproductive health planning and sexually transmitted infections with the crowd of hungry for knowledge students. One student, Arvin James Bioy, a 2nd year Practical Nursing student, said that he was grateful that his time was spent with learning and knowledge. He further said that the speakers were able to put the message across the students and the latter acquiring the basic things to know about reproductive health. “This is a good experience. We were able to grasp the ideas that our speakers imparted to us and at the same time we learned a lot and had fun. My time was not wasted and I am grateful that our school gave us this opportunity to learn more”, said Bioy. Zamboanga Sibugay 2nd District Board Member, Eufemio Javier, Jr., former President of STII, who was also present during the symposium, said that students deserve the right to know things about reproductive health and he also expressed his appreciation to the Administration and work force of the school for initiating the said symposium and giving quality education to the students. “This one of the basic rights of our students and I am giving two thumbs up to the people behind this event. Students as well as their instructors learned a lot”, Javier said. The speakers were Agnes Ortega Dr. Sherwin Bastero, Julia Revantad and Dr. Adnilre Verzon, all from the local and provincial health agencies of the province. The symposium is part of the campaign of the IPHO and MHO-Ipil to increase the awareness of the people especially the students about reproductive health, family planning and sexually transmitted infections. (NBE/ PL, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay)

Floods displace 60 families in Zamboanga

by Jewel Reyes


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – At least 60 families in Tungawan municipality, Zamboanga Sibugay temporarily fled their homes Tuesday afternoon due to floods.

Flashfloods hit Barangay Guilinan and Tigpalay Tuesday afternoon. A report from the Office of Civil Defense said a whirlwind also hit towns of Batungan and lower Tungawan.

Engineer Alejandre Cordova of the Department of Agriculture in Region 9 said he and his officemates were on their way to Zamboanga City when they got stranded in a highway following a heavy downpour.

Police said the floodwaters have since subsided.

There were no casualties reported.

DOLE-9 to intensify drive against child labors

by ALT-PIA9/Zambo Sur


Pagadian City - Many children have been reported to be engaged in work, employed or recruited for employment under extremely hazardous and exploitative conditions, including cases of prostitution, bonded child labor and other worst forms of child labor.

To help achieve the goal of “child labor-free” Philippines by 2015, the Department of Labor and Employment is intensifying its drive against child labor through the institutionalization of several programs and activities, one of which is the reactivation and strengthening of existing Child Labor structures.

DOLE Regional Director Ponciano Ligutom said members of the Provincial/City Child Labor Program Committee will gather for a 2-day re-orientation on the Philippine Program Against Child Labor Strategic Framework 2007-2015 and Child Labor Knowledge Sharing System at Sibugay Grand Plaza Hotel in Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay on September 13-14, 2011.

RD Ligutom said the activity aims to renew and intensify awareness and understanding of line implementers on the issue of child labor, thereby improving delivery of services to child laborers and their families.

Further, it is also seen to help increase the number of convictions using child labor laws and statutes through improved knowledge, skills and attitude of enforcers and partners.

Culminating the activity will be the renewal and the signing of program commitment by all line agency partners and stakeholders.

These include the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Provincial Health Office, Department of Education, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Liga ng mga Barangay, Department of Justice, Philippine Information Agency, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, National Statistics Office, peoples’ organizations and non-government organizations.

Child labor is defined as the illegal employment of children, where they are not directly under the sole responsibility of their parents or legal guardians or the latter employ other workers, apart from their children, who are not members of their families, or the work of children endangers their life, safety, health and morals or impairs their normal development including schooling.

Crisis panel tasked to handle kidnapping of salon operator

by Roel Pareño


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – Police and local government authorities activated a crisis management committee to deal with the kidnapping of a salon operator in Ipil town in Zamboanga Sibugay.

Ipil town Mayor Eldwin Alibutdan said the CMC, which he chairs, had not received information on whether the kidnappers have contacted the family of Luicita Galvez Morrison, 34, owner of RL Salon and a live-in partner of British national Raymund George Morrison, who was seized Sunday night from her salon in Barangay Magdaup, Ipil town.

The provincial joint peace and security control center, chaired by the Army’s 102nd Brigade chief Brig. Gen. Santiago Baluyot, was also mobilized to help track down the whereabouts of the Morrison.

Unconfirmed reports said the kidnappers demanded a P10-million ransom.

3 gunmen grab wife of Briton in Zamboanga

by AL JACINTO


ZAMBOANGA CITY: A Filipino woman married to a British engineer, was abducted by gunmen in Zamboanga Sibugay, security officials said.

Officials said the woman, Luisa Morrison, 34, was snatched Sunday evening by three gunmen in the capital town of Ipil. The woman’s husband is working at an oil rig off Malaysia.

The woman, who owns the RL Salon and Spa in the town’s business district, was seized by three men who posed as customers. She was forced into a small van which was later found abandoned and burned in the coastal village of Bangkerohan.

Officials said Morrison moved to Ipil town from Malaysia last year and put up her own business.

“We have sent troops to track down the abductors and rescue the woman,” said Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, a spokesman for the Western Mindanao Command.

Colonel Santiago Baluyot, commander of military forces in Zamboanga Peninsula, led troops in the operation to rescue the woman.

No group claimed responsibility for the abduction, but previous kidnappings for ransom in the province were largely blamed to Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebels (MILF) who are actively operating in the Zamboanga Peninsula.

In 2009, MILF rebels also seized three government teachers - Noemi Mandi, Jocelyn Enriquez and Jocelyn Inion near Ipil town. The three women were on their way to school in the neighboring town of Naga when seized by gunmen and taken to Basilan province, just several nautical miles off Zamboanga City.

They were freed six months later after government negotiators paid ransoms for their freedom.

In 1995, Abu Sayyaf rebels also raided and pillaged the town and killing 54 people.

Gunmen seize trader in Zamboanga Sibugay

by Bong Garcia


ZAMBOANGA CITY (Updated 11:19 a.m.) -- Armed men believed to be members of a kidnap-for-ransom group (KFRG) seized a Filipina married to a Scottish national in Zamboanga Sibugay province, a military official said Monday.

Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) spokesman, said the incident took place around 7:20 p.m. Sunday in the village of Poblacion, Ipil town, the capital of Zamboanga Sibugay.

Cabangbang identified the victim as Luisa Galvez Morrison, 34, the owner of RL Salon and a resident of Nizorecom Subdivision, Barangay Magdaup, Ipil.

Cabangbang said the gunmen with the victim sped away on board a multicab.

Investigation is ongoing.

Zambo town enforces 'no habitation zone

by Philstar.com


ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The municipal government of Ipil in Zamboanga Sibugay province is set to prohibit any additional settlement of new occupants in areas considered high-risk to calamities in the municipality.

Ipil, the capital town of Zamboanga Sibugay comprised of 28 barangays, is a first class municipality with a population of 63,786 people in 12,514 households as of 2010.

Ipil municipal councilor Alberto Alcoriza, Jr. said this in response to the call of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to all local government units (LGUs) to declare “no habitation zones” in all high risk areas.

Alcoriza said imposing prohibition of additional or new construction in areas considered high-risk to calamities would be the initial plan of the municipal government, citing the problem on relocation would be settled in the future.

Those who would be relocated were the ones who were already staying in areas considered or identified as high-risk, Alcoriza said.

He said they would focus on the identification of no habitation zones and tell the people not to add any structure or not to allow any new comer to settle in vacant lots.

DENR Secretary Ramon Paje urged LGUs to declare “no habitation zones” of all areas identified as high-risk due to landslides and flooding incidents that claimed several lives caused by recent typhoons that hit the country.

Paje also appealed to all LGUs to use geohazard maps earlier distributed by DENR to avoid loss of lives and properties especially in critical times when typhoons sweep the country which triggered heavy precipitation of lands.

Geohazard maps identifies the areas susceptible to floods, landslides and flash floods and the level of their susceptibility such as high, moderate and low. (PNA)

Zambo Sibugay health officer bares importance of community health teams

by Paulnazer Lontua


ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, Aug. 30 (PIA) -- The importance of having a community health team up to the barangay level in the entire province of Zamboanga Sibugay, particularly on the issues of maternal and child care was expressed by Provincial Health Officer, Dr. Rolando Olmoguez. In an effort to form a new community health team which will be composed of barangay officials, midwives and other health workers who will serve as health watchdogs of children and pregnant women in their respective communities, Olmoguez conducted a session with the different barangay chairmen and health workers from the municipalities of Payao and Siay. “I saw the importance of these community health teams to monitor and handle initial health care for the well-being of children and pregnant mothers in every community of Sibugay”, said Olmoguez. The health teams will be tasked to help in the campaign of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) of the province to reduce maternal death cases and eradicate cases of malnutrition in Sibugay. On the issue involving cases of birth deliveries being handled by traditional birth attendanta or commonly called as “hilot,” Olmoguez said the health sector is already discouraging any “hilot” practitioners to handle birth deliveries and advised that expectant mothers to go to the nearest health facility to ensure they will be handled by experts. “We are already discouraging any birth delivery to be handled by hilot because many cases like these resulted to maternal deaths or child deaths due to lack of expertise and facilities during labor”, added Olmoguez. In the year 2010, Olmoguez revealed that maternal deaths reached 10 live births and this year, the percentage reduced to .8/1000 live births. Most cases were caused by obstetric bleeding due to lack of facilities and expertise to handle such complications. The norm now is, “hilots” are advised by IPHO to join the community health teams in their respective communities to help decrease maternal death cases and malnutrition rate. “We are advising those who practice hilot to join us in our health teams for a better, healthier and more improved Sibugay”, ended Olmoguez. The IPHO already conducted community health team formation sessions and orientation to almost all municipalities in Sibugay where the goal is the creation of barangay health teams in the province. (NBE-PIA9/JL, Zamboanga Sibugay)

Sibugay solon bats for strict tax collection workshop

by Paulnazer Lontua


ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, Aug.28 (PIA) -- “To increase collection of tax revenues provincial government should strictly implement and religiously follow provincial tax revenue codes and all businesses should also declare income taxes accordingly and honestly”. 2nd District Board Member, Datu Wilborne S. Danda, said in an interview recently after the Regular Session of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) Members at the Provincial Capitol. According to Danda, he already proposed an ordinance entitled “Ordinance Regulating the Extraction Fee Rates of Sand and Gravel and Mountain Quarry Resources in the Province”. The ordinance, Danda continued, will somehow help increase the tax revenues of Sibugay to generate funds for project implementation. “This ordinance can make Sibugay increase its revenues collections over the previous years. More taxes means more projects and more improvements for the province”, Danda explained. The ordinance states that pursuant to the Local Government Code of 1991, under Sec. 138, “Tax on Sand, Gravel and other Quarry Resources- the province may levy and collect not more than ten percent (10%) of Fair Market Value in the locality per cubic meter of ordinary stones, sand, gravel, earth and other quarry resources as defined under the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended, extracted from public lands or from beds of seas, lakes, rivers, streams, creeks and other public waters within its territorial justification. The permit to extract sand, gravel and other quarry resources shall be issued exclusively by the Provincial Governor pursuant to the ordinance of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP). A sum of P35.00 per cubic meter for extracting, gathering and collecting gravel sourced from rivers will be implemented, P30.00 for sand P25.00 for mixed sand and gravel and boulders from the mountain quarry. Danda pointed out that any moves by the local and provincial officials to improve and upgrade the Provincial Tax Ordinance will just be wasted if the implementation and collection is too light and lenient. He added that he prompted to act on the tax collection issue when he discovered that the collection of the province on tax is P165-M every year while Ipil, the capital municipality, collected more or less P60-M on its revenue collection alone. All data, according to Danda, are certified by the Commission on Audit (COA). “This is very alarming because if we compare the collection of the whole province of Sibugay to the collection of Ipil alone, we can see that the disparity of the figures is just very minimal thinking that it’s the whole province being compared to a municipality only. So somebody should act on this kind of situation before it’s too late”, added Danda. The proposed ordinance is also inspired by the agenda of Sibugay Provincial Governor Rommel A. Jalosjos in his speech during the 1st State of the Nation Address (SOPA) of the Governor mandating the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources (PENRO) to adhere to the mandates specifically on the upgrading and increasing the province’s tax revenues from quarry resources. Danda hopes that the ordinance will be approved and agreed upon by the SP body as soon as possible. (NBE PIA9/JL Zamboanga Sibugay)

Sibugay COP’s undergo disciplinary authority workshop

by Paulnazer Lontua


ZAMBOANGA SIBUGAY, Aug. 27 (PIA) –- Sixteen (16) Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief of Police (COP) and other Provincial Investigation and Detective Management and Administrative Officers of the province of Zamboanga Sibugay attended the Seminar-Workshop on COPs Disciplinary Authority conducted by the Internal Affairs Services from Region IX recently at the Sandigan Hall of the Provincial Police Headquarters here. PSupt. Geraldo Benjamin Avengoza, Assistant Provincial Director for Administration (APDA) of Zamboanga Sibugay Police Provincial Office, said the workshop aims to train these 16 municipal COPs to handle conflicts and problems with their men with disciplinary authority in their level. Avengoza added that it is the first time in PNP Sibugay to have a workshop of this kind. “The basic goal of this seminar is to simply give enough knowledge and skills to our COPs in Zamboanga Sibugay to handle situations which involved implementing disciplinary authority on their men. I believe that this is the first time here,” said Avengoza. It was learned that most of the problems within the PNP-COP level are brought to the Regional Internal Affairs Services (RIAS) office where cases pile up since more pressing matters are prioritized over it. The situation prompted the RIAS to conduct the workshop to capacitate municipal police stations to quickly resolve PNP conflicts within their level. “RIAS decided to train these COPs in handling disciplinary authority among their men so that cases would no longer reach higher offices because the latter have a lot of things to prioritize. Such that, municipal police station conflicts and problems should be settled by municipal COPs to lessen the burden of the RIAS”, added Avengoza. During the morning session of the workshop, PSupt Edwin B. Saagundo from RIAS discussed the issues on PNP Admin Disciplinary Authority, Admin Appellate bodies and Admin Offenses and Penalties. In the afternoon, RIAS Legal Officer, Atty. Russel Ebillo, did a detailed discussion on Admin Due Process. Disciplinary actions which could be sanctioned by COPs to erring PNPs are 15 days suspension, forfeiture of salary and restriction to specified limits depending on the weight of the violation committed by a police officer. Zamboanga Sibugay PNP Provincial Director, PSSupt. Ruben D. Cariaga, Sr., and RIAS Acting Regional Director, PSSupt. Sonny T. Cunanan, also graced the seminar-workshop.

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