Albay News May 2014

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Albay - Archived News
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Seal of the Province of Albay
Interactive Google Satellite Map of the Province of Albay
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Location of Albay within the Philippines
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Provincial Capitol Building of Albay, in Legazpi City

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.

Mayon volcano albay province.jpg

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.

Frustration hits Legazpi City residents; officials working hard to fully restore power supply

By Floreño G. Solmirano (PNA)

LEGAZPI CITY, 31May2014 — Frustration hit most residents of this city, especially in the Old Albay District, after restoration of power in some areas after 12 midnight Friday, was only temporary and those who were expecting to have power resumption got an empty bag instead.

A power-tripping occurred on Saturday morning when engineers from the Albay Power and Energy Corp. (APEC) tried to load Feeder 3 in the Embarcadero Land Ventures Inc. sub-station but were unable to do so because the protection settings in that facility and in the APEC’s recloser were not coordinated.

The APEC technical men appeared to be finding it hard to determine the protection settings in both power facilities in order for these to be coordinated.

The engineers again failed on the second attempt to adjust the protection settings in both facilities as they failed to coordinate these.

This would be the fourth day that most parts of the city might experience the absence of power but Mayor Noel E. Rosal said they have been doing their best to include the Old Albay District in the areas with restored power supply.

While those in Barangay Oro Site and other villages in the city proper have had power supply since after midnight up to this writing, most parts either do not have power or are included in the areas with rotational supply.

“We are working hard to cover as wide an area as possible in power restoration up to Sunday,” Rosal said.

Latest news from the APEC management said while the tapping of the ELVI sub-station has been completed, adjustment on the settings has been ongoing after the tripping when the Bitano sub-station Feeder 3 was loaded.

It added that the two 10-MVA transformers and their accessories, which were sourced from Pampanga, are now all loaded on a trailer and are expected to arrive on Sunday afternoon.

“Please take note that there will be slippages from our commitment due to unexpected developments. Rest assured we are doing our best to normalize the power situation at the earliest time,” the APEC said.

Noting that Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda committed power supply normalization by Sunday midnight, the APEC said it would be doable.

The blackout being suffered by Legazpi City, Manito towns and some areas of Sto. Domingo town started on Wednesday morning after the 35-year-old 20-MVA transformer of the Bitano sub-station conked out.

Imported in 1979, it was originally bought as a second-hand equipment in 1991 and commissioned at the former Culliat sub-station in Daraga town.

It was then transferred to the Bitano sub-station in year 2000 for the replacement of a damaged unit.

Based on records, since its installation, the 20-MVA Wagner power transformer has not gone into a major repair or rehabilitation but only maintenance works such as correction of hot spots, injection of nitrogen and oil leak repairs — the latest of which is the maintenance done by the Gigantic Electrical and Mechanical Contractors Inc. (GEMCO) in July 2012.

The maintenance covered hot oil flushing of the core and winding, vacuum and filtering of oil, cleaning and painting works, re-gasketting, cleaning and re-aligning of gears and latching of the off-load tap-changer.

Latest report based on the testing conducted by GEMCO in July 2012 showed that the tests such as insulation resistance, transformer turns ratio, winding resistance, polarization index excitation and dielectric breakdown voltage tests were acceptable, except for the insulation power factor test for the secondary bushing which did not meet the minimum passing criteria of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines.

For it to be re-energized and connected to the grid, after the maintenance work of GEMCO, NGCP had Aleco submit a waiver in the event that the 20-MVA transformer would become defective due to cause of low insulation of the secondary bushing.

For the past two years, the 20-MVA power transformer has been loaded with 13.33-15.06-MVA, according to records.

Noynoy appoints Albay governor as Bicol RDC chairman for third time

(Tribune)

LEGAZPI CITY — President Aquino has once more entrusted the development direction of the Bicol Region to Albay Gov. Joey Salceda, whom he recently annointed chairman of the Bicol Renional Development Council (RDC) for a third consecutive term. This developed as Salceda steers the region toward new development priorities, with an initial infrastructure package of over P69 billion, which includes the extension of the Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEX) to Bicol. Salceda’s appointment was hand carried by Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas who was in Albay last Monday to inspect DILG projects and release checks to LGUs under the Performance Challengenge Fund. Albay was adjuged Best Province in Local Governance in 2010 to 2013 by the Department of Interior and Local Government. “Thank you sir for the appointment as RDC Region V for the third consecutive time,” said Salceda, addressing President Aquino, after taking his oath of office in brief rites during DILG secretary May 26 visit. President Aquino had visited Albay May 19, where he praised Salceda for his varied accomplishments and pledged more support to the province. Salceda said he hopes to get a favorable response on the proposed development package with the renewed trust given him by the President as Bicol RDC chair. He presented to Roxas a conv of the Bicol RDC resolution and the P69 billion proposal on the Regional Strategic Initiatives for Countryside Competitiveness. Aside from SLEX extnesion to Bicol Salceda said the new Bicol RDC plan includes the road tunnelling of mountain ranges that separate the Bicol Region from the mainstream of Luzon, with the Lucena-Sipocot and the P3.6 billion Naga-Polangui sections of the stretch 1 he project will considerably shorten the 10 to l2-hour travel time from Manila to Legazpi City, the regional center, a factor critical to the development of Region V.

Albay gears up for its hosting of Palarong Pambansa in 2016

(Albay PIO)

At this early, Albay is readying its facilities—for the first time ever—of hosting the Palarong Pambansa in 2016.

The good news was relayed by the province’s sports czar, Roderick Mendoza, who called up a meeting on May 28 with various stakeholders to discuss the rudiments of hosting this annual national games.

According to him, the province will build new structures—dome, arena or sports complex—just so Albay can handle the demands of a Palarong Pambansa.

Sites for the dome-type infrastructures are the Bicol University campuses in the towns of Polangui and Guinobatan.

The Albay Provincial Sports Center in Travesia, Guinobatan will be upgraded into a complete sports complex with a rubberized track oval and a colossal grandstand capable of holding thousands of spectators particularly during the opening ceremony.

More or less 15 thousand delegates coming from 17 regions of the country are participating in the Palaro, not even including their friends and families who come along with the players.

Mendoza said construction of these infrastructures will be viable and sustainable for Albay as it will signal the start of the province’s capacity to host future big events—even South East Asian (SEA) Games or Asian Games.

“Basic requirements for hosting these games are good facilities and accessible venues,” he said “that is why we make sure we can comply and our compliance must be within the strict standards of the games.”

According to him, in playing host to the Palaro, the province will scatter the playing venues for the 21 events to be contested in all the towns and three cities of Albay.

He emphasized that Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda wants to focus on sports tourism as participants and visitors to these games will also get the chance to explore Albay’s best tourism destinations and specialties.

“This is what the Governor always wants, to boost the local economy through these events,” he said.

DILG allocates P367M for antipoverty projects in Albay

(dilg.gov.ph)

QUEZON CITY, May 28 -- The National Government has allotted close to P367 million for various anti-poverty projects for the Province of Albay under the Grassroots Participatory Budgeting Process (GPBP) this year.

Secretary of Interior and Local Government Mar Roxas said that people in 18 cities and municipalities in Albay will benefit from the various projects aimed at alleviating poverty and promoting sustainable development in the province.

Roxas made the announcement during a dialogue with farmers, fishermen and civil society organizations as part of his visit in the Bicol Region to assess disaster preparedness of local government units (LGUs) and visit various projects funded and facilitated by the DILG.

“Ito ay katuparan ng social contract ng Pangulong PNoy sa taong bayan. Sa pamamagitan ng pondo na laan sa ilalim ng grassroots budgeting process, ang lahat makikinabang, walang maiiwan,” Secretary Roxas said.

The P367-million fund covers a total of 207 projects mostly deemed “eligible” following an evaluation process that involves the DILG, concerned local governments and local people’s organizations, nongovernment organizations, and other community stakeholders.

Of the 18 LGUs, the cities of Legazpi got the biggest chunk with P35 million, Tabaco City received P31 million, and Ligao City P30 million. Bacacay was allocated P19 million; Camalig, P18 million; Daraga, P25 million; Guinobatan, P20 million; Jovellar P20 million; Libon P25 million; Malilipot, P15 million; Malinao, P15 million; Manito P15 million; Oas P20 million; PioDuran, P17 million; Polangui, P22 million; Rapu-rapu, P15 million; Sto. Domingo, P15 million; and Tiwi, P15 million.

Among the beneficiaries in the town of Bacacay are fishermen, who will have a cold storage fish processing facility in Barangay 1; farmers, who will have their own Agricultural Products Trading Center for Barangays 12 and Barangay Cabasan; an association of women with the Rehabilitation of Women’s Center; and out-of-school youths with the P2.5 million funding for Technical/Vocational Training in Poblacion Bacacay.

A P6.1 million budget has been allocated for the Establishment of Material Recovery Facility in the said town.

In the town of Camalig, P8 million has been allocated for the construction and rehabilitation of existing potable water supply that will benefit three barangays namely Quitinday, Binanderahan, and Bariw which remain waterless.

In Daraga, farmers are expected to benefit from the allocation of P11.5 million for the concreting of the San Vicente-Grande-Catamlangan Farm-to-Market Road in Bigao, San Vicente Grante. The area has a population of 2,778 people.

In Guinobatan, a similar high-impact road project has been allocated P7.7 million—the Sinungtan Balolo-Road which will benefit farm families, traders and the general public.

In Malinao, P8 million has been allocated for the Establishment of Water System Level III that will benefit 1,947 households.

“Itong mga proyekto na ito ay pinag-usapan, pinag-aralan at nang matiyak sa makakatulong sa ordinaryong mamamayan, pinondohan ng National Government. Ito ay resulta ng isang proseso kung saan ang taong bayan mismo ang nagsabi kung anong proyekto ang mas kailangan nila. Sa mga susunod na pagkakataon, inaasahan ko na mas marami pang organisasyon at NGO ang makikibahagi sa programa,” Sec. Roxas said.

Legazpi cited in DILG’s Seal of Good House Keeping, allots incentive for public market expansion

(MAL/EPS-CGLegazpi/PIA5/Albay)

LEGAZPI CITY, May 27 (PIA) -- Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel Roxas III and Mayor Noel Rosal of this city led Monday the ground breaking ceremony for the expansion of the Old Albay District Public Market.

The expansion project will cost some P3 million that will be derived from the incentives obtained by the city government from notching the Seal of Good Housekeeping in 2012.

Rosal said the incentives will be used for the construction of the 230 square meter one storey Carinderia or local eatery selling and serving and viands with wooden benches, also known as a "turo-turo" wherein customers literally point what they want to eat from an array of cauldrons at one portion of the Old Albay District Public Market.

City Administrator Pecos Intia earlier of the day received the check amounting to P3 million from Roxas, assisted by DILG Bicol officer in charge Eloisa Pastor, in an awarding ceremony also held here.

The expansion project meanwhile, according to Rosal, is based on the project proposal prepared by Engineer Rey Benedict Rico of the city planning office and the improvement of the Carenderia section which will include five stores, nine kiosk and dining area with complete electrical and plumbing works, tile works, steel railings, stall/roof walls and painting works.

Roxas, on the other hand, noted that market is significant in the development of a local economy for such is the center of commerce and the place where people from all walks of life mostly rely their daily sustenance for food and other basic needs.

He also remarked that market place mirrors the level of progress of a locality for if one showcases good business transaction here, surely, that manifests a progressive community.

During the distribution incentives for the Seal of Good Housekeeping, Roxas urged all local chief executives of local governments who got the awards to continue to work hand in hand in pursuit of the “Tuwid na Daan” (righteous path) as espoused by the administration of President Benigno S. Aquino 111.

Rosal furthered that the city government notched the Seal of Good Housekeeping for advancing the primacy of performance, accountability, transparency and participation in the local government which are crucial in building a strategic foundation of a responsible local government system.

The awards is also incurred performance based incentive policy (PBIP) approved by the Development Budget Coordinating Committee of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) which provides for an incentive framework to rationalize national government and inter-governmental transfer to LGU performance and good governance as well as delivery of basic services.

Other local governments in Albay awarded with the Seal of Good Housekeeping which received the P3 million incentives were the cities of Ligao and Tabaco, while the municipalities of Bacacay, Camalig, Jovellar, Malilipot, Malinao, Manito, Oas, Polangui, Sto. Domingo, Tiwi, Daraga, Guinobatan and Pio Duran received P1 million each.

Meanwhile, DILG has also raised the standard for the SGH since the term of former DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo to advance the primacy of performance, accountability, transparency and participation which are crucial in building a strategic foundation of a responsible local government system.

The DILG introduced the scaled-up SGH in 2012 with the bronze, silver and gold categories.

The guidelines provide that recipients for the bronze category are assessed based on two basic requirements, the report of the Commissions on Audit (COA) on financial transactions of the preceding year and compliance to the full disclosure policy.

For them to scale up to silver and gold categories added requirements must be complied with.

LGUs with good or excellent performance as indicated in the Civil Service Commission (CSC) report card survey on the implementation of the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) and functional Bids and Awards Committee fully complying with the posting requirements of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PHILGEPS) are qualified for the silver category.

Furthermore, LGUs are up for the gold seal if they have above benchmark Local Governance Performance Management System performance, functional local development council, local school board, local housing board and peace and order council; and an internal audit office.

Also to be complied with are participation in joint ventures or cooperative arrangements with peoples’ organizations and non-government organizations in the delivery of basic services, capability building, livelihood projects, agriculture and other socio-economic development endeavors; and representation of indigenous people (IP) in local sanggunian and other local policy-making bodies.

Roxas to visit Albay

(MST Business)

LEGAZPI CITY—Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas will visit Albay today to see for himself the status of projects here, which made it the best province in local governance in 2010-2013.

Roxas himself awarded the prize to Albay last year at the headquarters of Land Bank of the Philippines in Manila under the Performance Challenge Fund.

Roxas, who will also visit Camarines Sur, will consult with local government officials, award PCF checks and check on police offices.

The PFC is a project of the Department of Interior and Local Government, which awards prizes to projects that “put premium on performance... jumpstart and sustain local economic development initiatives for poverty reduction in their localities.”

DILG Bicol Regional Director Elouisa Pastor in a recent letter to Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said Roxas was set to lead the groundbreaking of one such PCF project, the Legazpi City Public Market Extension.

Pastor said Roxas would first attend the flag-raising ceremony at the Albay Provincial Capitol and give a press conference.

Salceda, who will lead the welcome party and host the visit, said it would be a welcome chance for Roxas to visit and interact with businessmen at the Legazpi Public Market.

PNP chief coming to Legazpi on Tuesday

(PNA), SCS/FGS/EMC/CBD/PJN

LEGAZPI CITY, May 25 (PNA) -- Philippine National Police Director-General Alan Purisima is scheduled to visit the Police Regional Office-5 (PRO5) as guest during the inauguration and blessing of the newly constructed Regional Personnel Human Resource Development Division (RPHRDD) at Camp Gen. Simeon A. Ola here on Tuesday.

Chief Supt. Victor P. Deona, PRO5 regional director, said the new office was built in four months and will house all sections and units under the personnel department to become a one-stop, one-shop center for police officers in the region.

Deona said the center will be high tech as all transactions will be done on-line to fast-track the processing of documents as part of the PRO5 services.

The new building, which costs about Php 1 million, was realized owing to the savings of PRO5 from their projects.

“It is not only this building that was funded by the savings but also the PRO5 firing range which is now being constructed for use by Bicol police officers to make them experts in using their firearms,” Deona said.

Ahead of Purisima’s scheduled visit, Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel A. Roxas will visit Albay and see the new PRO5 RPHRDD office to serve as a model to the other PNP regional offices in the country.

UNWTO head hails Albay’s tourism ‘gem’, global potential

(MST News)

United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary General Taleb Rifai has praised Albay’s global tourism potential, particularly the “gem” he sees in Mount Mayon, the world’s only near perfect cone volcano.

Rifai presided over the just concluded 26th Joint meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the Commission for South Asia here last week, and the UNWTO-ASEAN International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change at the Oriental Resort Hotel in this city, and the luxury island Misibis Bay Resort in Bacacay town.

“Here in Albay you have beautiful people and beautiful places and your local officials are very supportive of tourism,” said Rifai, a Jordanian national and UNWTO head since 2010. He made special mention of the warm welcome accorded him and the delegates. “I see smiling faces and beautiful people… the people are the most important asset,” he added.

‘Warm Albay, Warm People’ is among the province’s tourism come-ons, coined and popularized by Albay Governor Joey Salceda.

Awed by Albay’s tourism programs and the beauty of Mayon, Rifai described Salceda as a “wonderful leader with a great sense of optimism and hope” and Mayon volcano as a “beautiful and wonderful mountain…ever polite to show her grandeur.”

The UNWTO top official toured around Mayon Volcano, on board a chopper with local executives and officials of the Department of Tourism (DOT), and walked atop one of the tallest lava fronts in Barangay Mabinit, a village at the foot of the volcano.

Rifai was all praises for the picture perfect Mayon volcano, which he said is a “tourism gem.” It is Albay’s most prominent tourism site, along with the equally world-famous Cagsawa Ruins in Daraga town. Both are the most visited and most photographed landmarks of the province’s many sites.

The three UNTWO conferences held here from May 15 to 21, with over a thousand delegates coming from 31 countries, is considered so far the biggest event in world tourism held in the country, and the only single setting that brought together the issue of tourism and climate change. The two-day UNWTO-ASEAN meet took up the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.

With its exiting natural wealth and strong sales pitch being pushed by Salceda Albay has developed into a tourism powerhouse, touted by the DOT to lead the next tourism wave in the country. It brought in some 800,000 foreign and local tourists in 2013, registering an astounding 66 percent tourism growth.

Salceda said hosting the three UNTWO conferences “is a strong testimony to the world-class capability of Albay to host such significant big events … and a further proof that our efforts and preparations respond to international benchmark demands”. The province was chosen from among many locations in 156 countries.

Among the confrences’ topics was air connectivity. Of this, Salceda said “Albay is already halfway there, having initially opened the Albay International Gateway in January, aside from the expected completion of the Southern Luzon International Airport in Daraga town in 2016.

Hosting the international events, he shared, forms part of Albay’s preparation to handle a much bigger global events including the 2015 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, at least 10 of the 63 events of which will be hosted by Albay.

Legazpi strives more to become country’s convention capital (Feature)

By Danny O. Calleja [(PNA),CTB/FGS/DOC/CBD]

LEGAZPI CITY, May 23 (PNA) – There is no looking back now for the local government of this prime Bicol metropolis known as among the country’s leading travel destinations in its quest for preference as a venue of big national and international gatherings.

“We are now highly capable of hosting and properly handling friendly visitors from any part of the world,” Mayor Noel E. Rosal on Friday said as he assessed the city’s execution of its role as host city to the recently concluded series of meetings conducted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization-Association of South East Asian Nations (UNWTO-ASEAN).

Attended by some 400 delegates representing 32 member-states and national tourism organizations, the meetings were divided into three sets-- the 40th ASEAN Meeting, Plus Three National Tourism Organizations; 26th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific (CAP); and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia (CSA) UNWTO-ASEAN International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change.

The meetings that ran for six days—from May 15 to 20-- were held at the plush Oriental Hotel and Resort that sits atop Taysan Hill and overlooks the alluring and cordial cityscape and the blue waters of Albay Gulf amid a backdrop of the iconic Mayon Volcano.

As in the past handling of similar big formal gatherings, Rosal said, “We once again made it to its best. We consider the UNWTO events as additional inspiration for us in the city government and for every Legazpeño to strive more toward formally achieving the ‘convention capital of the Philippines’ title.”

It may be an ambitious goal but the mayor sees it not an impossible dream as the city has the attributes leading to such recognition -- such as its year-round favorable climate, clean and pollution-free environment, beautiful sceneries, stable peace and order situation and world-class facilities.

On climate, Rosal refers to records that the city has not been hit by any strong typhoon in the past eight years and the latest that ravaged the place was super typhoon "Reming" in late 2006 that left scores of death and enormous damages to farms and properties.

The city has long been able to recover from such destruction and following reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts, the city went on toward disaster resilience wherein all its initiatives were recognized by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRC) with its Kawad Kalasag Award naming the City Disaster Risk and Reduction Council (CDRRMC) as the best in the country last year.

The city has also been officially named as “most business-friendly," “most competitive” and now finalist in the Livable Cities Design Challenge, a competition organized by the National Competitiveness Council, World Wildlife Fund and the Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Reconstruction with Asia Society and Urban Land Institute (ULI).

The competition, whose judgment is coming in October, is aimed at getting city planners across the Philippines to be more aware and better prepared for disaster-risk reduction.

On cleanliness and pollution situation, the Department of Environment (DENR) has recently classified the city’s air quality as “good and clean” based on smoke-belching monitoring and air quality measurement.

The same agency has also placed the city’s coastal and marine waters under the Class SB ranking, which means that they are fit for swimming, bathing and diving.

On sceneries that place the iconic Mt. Mayon -- the world’s most perfect cone-shaped volcano on the city backdrop, the picturesque Albay Gulf with its aquamarine waters kissing the clean black volcanic sand beaches, the Legazpi Boulevard, Ligñon Hill, Kapuntukan Hill and lava front ATV (all-terrain vehicle)-driving terrain near the volcano’s foot, among others, are places to boast.

On peace and security situation, the Philippine National Police (PNP) sees no much problem in the city that it classifies as one of the most peaceful and manageable in the Bicol region.

Tourism facilities like hotels, dining places, recreational sites, convention sites, shopping and transportation hubs also offer no problem as since the past 10 years, such kind of amenities have been sprouting like mushrooms around the city and ready to take in all visitors on any given time.

In fact, on accommodations, three of the most elegant hotels in the city—The Oriental, St. Ellis and Venezia -- were able to house all the UNWTO delegates conveniently.

On transportation, the Legazpi City Airport -- which last January was opened as direct international chartered flights destination, has an average of six domestic flights to and from Manila and Cebu daily.

The city also has its grand terminal that serves as center of land transportation covering all points around Bicol up to Manila and down to the Visayas and Mindanao regions.

The private business community is also supportive of the city’s emergence as a convention capital and travel destination with its aggressive pouring in of investments that have been coming up with modest to international class shopping complexes some of which are the Embarcadero de Legazpi, Liberty Commercial Center, Pacific Mall, Save More, Seven-Eleven, Robinsons Supermarket and many more.

Apart from elegantly furnished restaurants that serve exotic native and international cuisines, all of the country’s leading food chains have their outlets around the city.

“Besides all these, we are not stopping with our works as we aim to be the country’s top venue for big national and international assemblies. We are developing more sites and facilities, among these is the P100-million convention center that the city is putting up on a sprawling property along Legazpi Boulevard via public-private partnership (PPP) starting next year.

This facility is included in the blueprint of the development of the new urban center that involves a P300-billion project consisting among others the reclamation of a vast portion of an area at the city’s southern coast designed to further accelerate the development of the city into a leading investment and tourism hub,

It will locate world-class tourism and commercial facilities within an impressive waterfront economic landscape with a sweeping 360-degree view of Albay Gulf, opposite the heartwarming scenery of the majestic Mayon Volcano sitting at the northern side of the city, Rosal said.

Development of the area, which was started by the city government with the opening of the five-kilometer boulevard as part of a new road network extending up to the Southern Luzon International Airport (SLIA), is currently ongoing.

SLIA, now ongoing construction within a 200-hectare plateau in Barangay Alobo, Daraga, Albay, six kilometers from the city proper, is expected to start operations in 2016 to become a testament to economic growth propelled by the past growing trade and tourism industry in Bicol.

“Since we have the awesome Mt. Mayon that is a leading tourist magnet as well as excitingly hospitable people, treasured culture and exotic natural sceneries, we are confident that our city will, in a few more days, finally and formally rise as the country’s convention capital,” Rosal said.

During the first five months of this year alone, he said, the city has already hosted around 15 major conventions, including the triple UNWTO events, one of which was graced by Pres. Benigno Aquino III as guest speaker and other high-ranking officials from different countries.

Next year, the biggest occasion that the city will be hosting, as slated so far, is the 99th Annual Convention of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines that will take place in April and expected to be participated in by over 5,000 members of the over 350 lodges composing more that 50 Masonic districts nationwide.

PNoy hails Albay's dev't gains, pledges more support

By Johnny C. Nunez [(PNA), JCN/UTB]

DARAGA, Albay (PNA) -- President Benigno Aquino has hailed Albay’s gains in education, climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction, tourism and infrastructure, economic and poverty alleviation. He pledged more support for the province’s development.

Aquino was in Albay recently to lead the opening of the Bicol University (BU) College of Medicine, the first state-run medical college in the Bicol Region, which he referred to as a laudable effort at providing the competitive knowledge and skills needed by the youth to become gainfully productive.

The President was also guest at the three important conferences of the United Nations World Tourism Organization, hosted by Albay for which the province was praised for its “global gold standard hosting”.

The BU College of Medicine complex consists of two new health science buildings. The project was initiated by Albay Gov. Joey Salceda and BU president Faye Lauraya. President Aquino pledged an additional P24 million to complete the complex and its requirements.

“So when we think about it,” Aquino said, jokingly, in Tagalog, “what more will I do in Albay when Joey Salceda is already here?” The two classmates at the Ateneo de Manila University.

Elated by the varied development programs in Albay, which he said all help boost the national agenda, Aquino also instructed the Presidential Management Staff to facilitate the approval of the 2016 Palarong Pambansa in Albay, for which a budget of P280 million has been earmarked.

The President said the new BU College of Medicine is a “clear strategy of responding to current and future requirements while continuously investing in programs that offer vast opportunities for the people.”

Aquino also praised Salceda’s accomplishments in “almost all fields of development,” particularly the ‘unique’ 4Ps or Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, and climate change adaptation. The governor sits as co-chair of the UN Green Climate Fund representing Southeast Asia and all developing countries.

The BU College of Medicine was the first institutional infrastructure in education that Albay requested for construction through the Bicol Regional Development Council, which Salceda chairs. It was granted by the President following his assumption of oddice about four years ago.

Aquino said the new BU Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Administration courses should answer the sound public governance and health requirements of the province and its youth.

Salceda had originally conceived the creation of the BU College of Medicine in support of the modernization of the nearby Bicol Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (BRTTH), which will now serve as training hospital for the BU medical students.

“We are helping each other in this undertaking as we want to produce high-caliber Albayano or Bicolano medical practitioners,” Salceda said. The target upgrading of the BRTTH will make it capable of undertaking critical heart procedures, a rare chance for medical students, which also forms part of the national government’s efforts to make comprehensive health services accessible in the countryside.

The House committee on higher and technical education has recently cited BU as among the five top accounting schools in the country. BU has also excelled in various government professional regulatory examinations, with 21 of its graduates topping various board examinations in 2013 alone, including education, nursing and midwifery, social work, and various engineering and technical courses.

Salceda’s administration has enrolled thousands of its scholars with the state owned university for the past six years, paying as much as P350 million under the Albay Higher Education Contribution Scheme and Education Quality for Albayanos.

UNWTO sec-gen brands Albay as gold standard in hosting treaty confabs

By Floreño G. Solmirano [(PNA), FPV/FGS/CBD]

LEGAZPI CITY, May 21 (PNA) -- "It will take years or decades to match the performance of Albay. The warmth, grace and beauty of the people are just as natural and God-given as Mayon Volcano. With its rich heritage and a culture of unity, Albay is now the gold standard in hosting treaty conferences."

This, according to Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda, was what Taleb Rifai, UNWTO secretary-general, told him frankly in front of many key UNWTO officials during a break from the hectic conference schedule of global tourism officials here.

Rifai, who is based in Madrid, Spain, presided over the two-day UNWTO-ASEAN International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change where the member-nations also took up the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.

“I see smiling faces and beautiful people among the Filipinos and the people are the country’s most important asset. Here in Albay you have beautiful people and beautiful places and your local officials are very supportive of tourism,” he said on a separate occasion, during the White Night dinner at the Misibis Bay Resort and Casino ’s beach front, where he was welcomed by Zaldy Co, a local business tycoon-philanthropist and owner of the posh resort.

Rifai, an environmentalist who holds a Bachelor of Architectural Engineering degree from the University of Cairo, sees tourism as the key to peace, cooperation and economic growth.

It is for this reason that, he said, he is urging world leaders to open their country’s borders and skies so that people can travel from their place to other places, and this would in turn draw nations and the world’s different peoples closer.

Rifai sees tourism as a powerful force in the world, saying “I want billions of people to travel every year, going to other countries; this way, it would be an opportunity for people to be together, understand each other and promote their respective nations, thus, breaking the barriers that separate them.”

The tourism world leader sees Albay, in particular, and the Philippines, in general, as playing a pivotal role in the ASEAN region’s tourism industry because of cooperation and efforts being done by the local leaders and the people.

“I see Albay, with its awesome perfect cone-shaped Mayon, as a huge magnet for tourists where one sees beauty everywhere – in its people, culture and natural scenery,” Rifai, who has held the position of secretary general since January 1, 2010, said.

Reacting to Rifai’s comments, Albay Governor Joey Sarte Salceda said, “The rise of Albay as a tourism power in Asia Pacific is proof that all that a leader must do is to liberate the creative spirit of his people.”

“Anyway, that is all that he can. The rest follows. Therefore, it is nonsense to suggest just to please me that I cannot be replaced,” Salceda said.

It is people, he stressed, who fashion their own future and they will choose accordingly; nonetheless, they would be most cruel to anyone who would take them back to the bondage of hopelessness and negativity.

“It is the people not the leader,” said the green economist, who is also co-chair of the Korea-based Green Climate Fund, which is having it seventh board meeting now.

He claimed that one of the heads of the delegations told him that "all the girls in Albay are pretty. No one 'not pretty’."

Members of the 27-nation UNWTO were profuse in their praises to Albayanos, Salceda added.

Tourism players vow to preserve cultural heritage

By Donnabelle Gatdula (The Philippine Star)

LEGAZPI CITY , Philippines – Local players in the travel industry have committed to protect the environment and preserve the nation’s cultural heritage in promoting tourism.

The commitments are part of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism drawn up by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

During the weeklong UNWTO International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change here, UNWTO secretary-general Taleb Rifai lauded the Department of Tourism (DOT) for pushing the promotion of this initiative.

Fourteen tourism-related establishments signed on to the code for the first time.

The Philippines is the second country in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, next to Indonesia, to have adhered to the code. Adopted in 1999, the code has only about 200 countries around the world as signatories, mostly from Europe and Latin America.

With international tourism forecast to reach 1.6 billion arrivals by 2020, UNWTO members believe that the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism is needed to help minimize the negative impacts of tourism on the environment and on cultural heritage, while maximizing the benefits for residents of tourism destinations.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr. has said their vision is for all Philippine tourism companies to commit to this program in the near future.

More signatories seen

Tourism Assistant Secretary Rolando Canizal, on the other hand, said they are closely coordinating with tourism stakeholders, particularly members of the Tourism Congress of the Philippines (TCP), to further increase the number of signatories to the code.

Canizal said the DOT has been pushing to join this global tourism initiative for seven years now.

“We are glad that our private companies have signed this commitment to protect the environment and the interest of the consumers and promote socio-cultural development,” Canizal said.

Aside from protecting the environment and preserving cultural heritage, the 14 tourism companies also pledged to observe the other principles of the code like respect for human rights and working toward social inclusion, gender equality and accessibility.

They will serve as ambassadors to promote the code among their respective business partners, staff and clients.

The 14 signatories are the TCP, Philippine Exhibits and Themeparks Corp., Hijo Estate Resorts, Rajah Travel Corp., Amarela Resort Corp., Daluyon Beach and Mountain Resort, Donsol Eco Tour Inc., Misibis Bay Resorts and Casino, El Nido Resorts, The Oriental Hotel, The Avenue Plaza Hotel, DIVELINK Cebu, Southland Events, Inc., and South Palms Resort.

“We are pleased to state that as of May 2014, 243 companies and associations from 35 countries all over the world have signed the Private Sector Commitment to the Code of Ethics. They have been chosen for their strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs and sustainability initiatives,” Rifai said.

“The DOT acknowledges the support of these 14 operators who have been our faithful partners in tourism promotion. Today, they not only commit to continue their CSR programs, but also join our advocacy for responsible, ethical and sustainable tourism,” Jimenez said.

He said the DOT hopes to encourage more establishments and companies to share their passion and belief in tourism as a great social and economic equalizer.

“For the DOT, the importance of sustainable tourism cannot be overstated. Hence, it becomes imperative upon all tourism stakeholders to be responsible and accountable for these beautiful tourism wonders in order to make it sustainable for generations to come,” he said.

Air connectivity

As this developed, Rifai will also head the discussions on air connectivity and its impact on the tourism sector in the Asia-Pacific region.

He also led the 26th UNWTO Joint Meeting of the Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the Commission for South Asia here.

Specifically, the inter-country level of discussion involves exchange of policy views on how tourism is changing their tourism landscape and how it is affecting their aviation policies.

The discussions, to be attended by more than 380 delegates from 19 countries, will commence with a presentation on the salient features of the UNWTO and Pacific Asia Travel Association regional study on air connectivity, and its impact on tourism in Asia and the Pacific.

CNN TASK senior consultant Anita Mendiratta will moderate the remaining discussion where participating countries and delegates will be asked to make brief interventions.

Topics that will be covered include air connectivity and economic regulation; the role of airports and regional hubs in tourism development, security, and visa facilitation; consumer protection and visitor satisfaction; impact of low-cost airlines; policy on open sky; taxation and levies; and the role of aviation within the Green Economy and its impact on tourism safety, taxation and consumer protection.

“The Philippines is privileged to be hosting this very important meeting which will result in a collective vision for aviation and tourism. This will be another landmark event for our country, but more importantly, the discussions and agreements ought to encourage harmonization of policies and more convergence initiatives to further strengthen these two closely related sectors,” Jimenez said.

Albay rice farmers advance toward farm mechanization through DAR aid

(PNA), FPV/FGS/DOC/CBD/UTB

LEGAZPI CITY, May 19 (PNA) -– Farmers in a remote Albay town are advancing toward modern rice farming through the recent grant of mechanized farm equipment by the regional office for Bicol here of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR).

The grant is under the common service facilities (CSFs) dispersal component of Agrarian Reform Community Connectivity and Economic Support Services (ARCCESS), a DAR program under the administration of Pres. Benigno Aquino III that aims to improve farm productivity and earning capabilities of agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs).

This is in line with the implementation of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reform (CARPER).

The CSFs that the Agrarian Reform Community (ARC) in Barangay Kamanitohan, Manito, Albay, received during a recent simple turn-over rites at the town’s municipal hall were two units of hand tractors, two units of mechanical harvesters, two units of mechanical transplanter and a palay thresher, DAR Regional Director Luis Bueno Jr. on Monday said.

All items, which include 8,000 pieces of rice seedling tray and turned over to the farmer’s group called Kamanitohan ARC Irrigator’s Association (KARCIA), were placed at P3.4 million in total cost.

Manito, which is located in the southeastern coastal tip of Albay separated by high mountains from this city, is a fourth class municipality whose about 22,000 residents rely principally on farming and fishing for livelihood.

While it plays host to the operations of the Lopez-owned Energy Development Corporation (EDC) at the 125,000-hectare Bac-Man (Bacon-Manito) geothermal power field that straddles over the boundaries of Albay and Sorsogon, the municipality is considered the most under-developed locality in the province.

Apart from dispersal of CSFs, ARCESS, Bueno said, also provides ARBs a window for business, livelihood opportunities and economic growth.

It is under this intention that the equipment were granted to the KARCIA through a memorandum of understanding defining the policies governing its utilization by members and non-members by way of a rental system.

According to Romulo Britanico, DAR Albay Provincial Agrarian Reform Program officer, any rice farmer in the municipality can avail the service of the facilities under the rental system formulated by KARCIA, reviewed by the DAR and approved by the Manito local government unit (LGU).

The rental system makes the association an agri-enterprise that will help not only to improve farm productivity in the locality but also the ARBs’ earning capabilities, Britanico explained.

Before the grant of CSFs to the KARCIA, he said, a Community-Based Enterprise Organizer (CBEO) was deployed by DAR to guide the organization in creating a business plan and built its capacity in managing the equipment as a business unit.

Through ARCCESS, the DAR is seeing to it that ARBs are provided with assistance to sustain their livelihood by improving the organizational capacities of Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) in agri-enterprise development, according to Bueno.

DAR interventions like this, he said, has been leading farm consolidations in Bicol and in turn contribute to better prices, improved net income and sustainable livelihood of land reform beneficiaries.

ARCCESS operates as a government-led inter-sectoral partnership participated in by state universities and colleges, civil society organizations and private institutions aimed at providing a range of services intended to improve the performance of ARBO’s agri-enterprise, access to markets and its ability to compete with other markets, Bueno explained.

This means that it is a convergence of the rural development agencies such as the DAR, Department of Agriculture, Department of Environment and Natural Resources with LGUs and non-government agencies into public-private partnerships toward ARC connectivity and enterprise support services, he said.

Under this program, the DAR identifies and organizes qualified farmer-beneficiaries and provide up to 90-percent premium subsidy taken from the CARPER fund and the remaining 10 per cent shouldered by the farmers as their equity.

So far, Bueno added, nearly 20 ARBOs in the six provinces of Bicol are now enjoying the benefits of ARCCESS—most of them rice and sugarcane farmers in Camarines Sur, cattle raisers in Masbate, abaca producers in Catanduanes and coconut and corn producers in Albay, Sorsogon and Camarines Norte.

Balikatan 2014 helps build communities in Albay

By Celso Amo (The Philippine Star)

LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines - – Completed projects under the engineering civic assistance program of Balikatan 2014 were turned over to beneficiaries after the annual bilateral exercises between the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the US military ended here Friday.

US Marine Maj. Jason Johnson, deputy commander of the Joint Civil Military Operations Task Force (JCMOTF) based at Camp General Simeon Ola, commended all the participants for a job well done.

“We’re so proud we have renovated Tamaoyan Elementary School among the many projects we’ve done; one of them was a comfort room in Barangay Pawa here as well as a school in Doña Mercedes, two classrooms in Barangay Malobago and a health clinic,” Johnson said.

Johnson led the turnover of the completed projects at the Tamaoyan Elementary School Friday.

Johnson said some 165 USAF servicemen as well as seven Australians took part in the humanitarian mission from April 5 to May 17.

Asked to comment on the quality of constructed projects, Johnson remarked, “They were absolutely beautiful.”

Salceda targets 188,000 Albay provincial scholars by 2016

(Manila Standard Today)

LEGAZPI CITY—From its 34,000 enrolment in 2007, Albay’s college scholarship program has benefitted 76,137 scholars, many of whom have put up their own business, found work here or abroad.. The program targets 188,000 grantees by 2016.

The Albay Higher Education Contribution Scheme (AHECS), a ‘study now pay later program’ led by Gov. Joey Salceda, aims to produce a corps of technically trained and employable manpower toward the ultimate goal of producing at least one college graduate in every Albayano family.

AHECS anchors the ‘Albay Boom’ anti-poverty and economic devepment linked up with programs in tourism, health and education, among other sectors.

Albay pioneered a local education department, created by the Albay Provincial Board and approved by the Civil Service Commission, Deapartment of Education and Department of Budget and Management.

Funded with a P700-million loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines secured in 2010, AHECS is patterned after the Australian scholarship program.

Salceda said Bicol University (BU) is able to extend through the government a P32,000 subsidy per student.

“BU charges only P5,000 per student per semester and so by funding more enrolees, we are able to procure high quality education worth P32,000 for only P5,000, which is the AHECS loan,” he said.

Tertiary education is hardly funded by the government with only P23 billion per year for the Commission on Higher Education versus P250 billion for basic education or the Department of Education.

Private schools and local community colleges in the province, with none or very little government subsidy, such as Aquinas University and Divine Word College, account for 66 percent of AHECS enrolment. State universities and colleges cover 34 percent, charging only tuition.

AHECS also forms a dimension of the Education Quality for Albayanos (EQUAL) scholarship project for the secondary level.

Salceda said AHECS the program is managed by a full-staff complement of highly competent educators and administrators. Under AHECS, Albay gives P5,000 financial assistance every semester for each student-beneficiary enroled in 53 public and private universities and colleges, and technical vocational schools within the province.

Spending for education, according to Salceda, has a higher recovery potential than road projects, more so, since AHECS is a study now, pay later scheme, which means it offers more opportunities for cost recovery by the provincial government.

President Aquino to keynote International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change in Albay

By Connie B. Destura [(PNA), FPV/FGS/CBD/]

LEGAZPI CITY, May 16 (PNA) -- President Benigno S. Aquino III will be the keynote speaker at the International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change in Albay on May 19, Governor Joey Sarte Salceda confirmed to the Philippines News Agency (PNA) Thursday.

The province of Albay is hosting three important international conferences from May 15 to May 20 at the Oriental Hotel here.

The President will also be the guest of honor in the opening of the Bicol University College of Medicine (BU-CM), blessing of the Cagsawa Bridge and fly-over inn the Bicol International Airport, and the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Agriculture.

The tourism conference will address a whole range of relevant issues -- from the competitiveness and sustainability perspectives, identification of specific challenges and vulnerabilities, to the examples of relevant actions.

A selection of successful implementation of initiatives for low carbon tourism development -- including climate change mitigation policies, installation of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and others -- will be presented.

The conference will also provide an opportunity to share with the international community, at the ministerial and expert levels, further knowledge and lessons learned on tourism and climate change from other countries.

The event will end with a plenary session in which conclusions and recommendations will be presented.

ASEAN group opens opportunities for Filipino tourism professionals

By Connie B. Destura [(PNA), CMR/FGS/CBD]

LEGAZPI CITY, May 15 (PNA) -- Good news for Filipino tourism professionals!

There will soon be regional training sessions for hotel divisions where tourism professionals may find employment in other member-countries of the ASEAN National Tourism Organization.

The agreement came up in the special meeting of the ASEAN Tourism Professionals Monitoring Committee (ATPMC) held Thursday at the Oriental Hotel, ahead of the multiple tourism organizations' meetings that will be held later this week in this city.

The ATPMC is composed of the national organizations of ASEAN member-states in preparation for the ASEAN Economic Community Integration by 2015.

Sounh Manivong of Lao PDR chaired the meeting while Mohd Daud Moud Arif of Malaysia was the vice-chair.

The ATPMC likewise drafted Thursday the terms of reference and agreement to establish the regional secretariat for the implementation of the mutual recognition agreement (MRA) on tourism professionals.

The 40th meeting of the ASEAN National Tourism Organization, the 26th Meeting of the ASEAN plus Three National Tourism Organizations and the 12th Meeting of the ASEAN-India TWG are scheduled until May 17.

The ATPMC’s mandate is to ensure tourism growth sustainability and greater contribution to the ASEAN community, through, among others, the implementation of MRAs on tourism professionals.

Meanwhile, the MRA aims at facilitating mobility of tourism professionals within the region, fostering information exchange of best practices - especially in education and training - and providing opportunities for cooperation and capacity-building across ASEAN member-states.

Albay steps up CCA, DRR initiatives with new mobile app

(MAL/SAA-PIA5/Albay)

LEGAZPI CITY, May 14 (PIA) – The provincial government of Albay has leveled up anew its disaster management and risk reduction initiatives as it launches Friday last week a mobile and web application in partnership with Smart Telecommunications Inc.

“We are excited with the partnership we have made with Smart and as always the PGA strives to push the level in new technologies that we can employ and I am sure that we will succeed in this as we have the absorbing capability,” said Albay governor Joey Salceda.

Salceda said the mobile application is designed to be used effectively as a communication and information dissemination tool on disaster management and risk reduction

Smart Public Affairs head Ramon Isberto they have chosen Albay as the perfect partner in propagating DRR awareness for its receptiveness to new communication tools and pro-active DRR programs.

“We chose Albay to be the pilot LGU for this valuable mobile app as Albay is receptive to new communication tools, also, the province is widely known for its pro-active DRR programs making it the perfect partner in propagating DRR awareness,” said Ramon Isberto, head of Public Affairs at Smart on his message.

Mayors and representatives of the 15 municipalities and three cities comprising Albay receive a smart phone with the mobile app already installed for immediate use when needed.

The mobile app named PINDOT stands for Provincial Information Network on Disaster Occurrences and Threats.

It is a pro-active, comprehensive and rational disaster management mobile and web application which the APSEMO adopted for easier and faster information dissemination tool to mitigate the disastrous effects of natural and man-made calamities with the help of new mobile technologies,” Punzal said.

The mobile app can be used to give government agencies, organizations and individuals, immediate access to disaster warnings, advisories, location data and disaster mappings.

It is equipped with a user-friendly interface and easy to follow step-by-step instructions that can guide users to safety during disasters and allows users to contribute pertinent information to emergency assistance agencies easier and faster.

PINDOT allows users to post photos and provide concise details and information about events currently unfolding.

The application also offers useful tools which can convert your smart phone into a siren, flashlight, strobe light and compass. It can also store emergency phone numbers for easy access and delivery of safety tips in case of emergencies.

PINDOT was developed by Cebu-based Tudlo Innovation Solutions, Inc and assisted by the Albay Public Safety and Emergency Management Office (APSEMO).

IOS and Android users can now download it for free.

UNWTO secretary general to sign Global Code of Ethics for Tourism in Albay meeting

By Mar S. Arguelles [(PNA), CTB/FGS/MSA/CBD/]

LEGAZPI CITY, May 13 (PNA) -- Secretary General Taleb Rifai of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNTWO) will arrive on Saturday to preside over the 26th Joint meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia.

Rifai, a Jordanian national, will also preside over the two-day UNWTO-ASEAN International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change where the member-nations will take up and sign the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET) on Sunday.

GCET is a comprehensive set of principles designed to guide key players in tourism development to help government, travel industry and communities to maximize the sectors’ benefits while minimizing its potential negative impact on the environment, cultural heritage and societies across the globe.

The code has ten principles that amply cover the economic, social, cultural and environmental components of travel and tourism.

Upon his arrival at the Legazpi Domestic Airport on Saturday, Rifai will be met by national and local officials and then tour the Mayon Lava Front in Barangay Mabinit, a village at the foot of Mayon Volcano some 7 kilometers from the city proper.

After touring the Lava Front, the UNTWO official will proceed to the Misibis Bay Resort and Casino in Barangay Misibis, an island-village in Bacacay town that is some 30 kilometers from this city.

Rifai will be treated to White Night cocktails at a beach front for a dinner hosted by Elizaldy S. Co, a local business tycoon-philanthropist and owner of the Misibis Bay Resort and Casino.

In recognition of the growing importance of responsible and sustainable tourism, Misibis Bay Resort and Casino will be among the signatories to the treaty on the GCET to be signed at the Oriental Hotel on Sunday.

Co, in an interview, said his company is committed to protect the environment and improve the livelihood of the local community.

He said he is bent on pursuing various conservation projects such as coastal and under water clean-ups, giant clam translocation to promote coral reef growth, reforestation, utilizing solar and energy efficient technologies to minimize use of fossil fuels, solid waste management and monitoring and prevention of illegal fishing.

Maria Ong-Ravanilla, DOT Bicol regional director, said this year's one key item in the agenda of the joint commission will be a debate on air connectivity in the Asia-Pacific region and its impact on tourism.

She claimed that since separate sectoral policies on air transport and tourism still constitute a severe constraint on the development of travel and tourism in the region and other parts of the world this aspect should have to be given more attention and solution.

Ravanilla said that at the end of the conference, the UNTWO members would be able to draw up preventive measures to caution the impact of climate change on tourism and strengthen the industry response mechanism and ability to deal with climate change threats and challenges.

The conference will also address thematic topics about innovation, technology and institutional training, and deal with consumer behavior and policy reforms.

Issues will be addressed concerning competitiveness and sustainability, efficient and renewable energies and low carbon tourism development.

Albay will play host to three international events to be held at the Oriental Hotel here.

These events include the 40th Meeting of the ASEAN, Plus Three National Tourism Organization on May 15-17; 26th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and UNWTO Commission for South Asia on May 18; and the UNWTO–ASEAN International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change on May 19-20.

Ravanilla said some 2,000 delegates from 32 countries will participate in this conference.

The delegates will be housed in three big hotels in this city.

The Philippine National Police provincial office said it has deployed 300 additional police personnel to augment the existing police force of the city and provide security measures to the delegates in their six-day stay in Albay.

At present, flags of the 32 member-nations are unfurled at public places in the province, at the Peñaranda Park and the Oriental Hotel.

Colorful welcome streamers hang along the major city streets of Legazpi and public places in Albay.

“Albay is now ready to play host to these international conferences as accommodation facilities, conference venues, security for the guests have already been put in place,” Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said in an interview Tuesday.

Salceda said Albay was blessed when it was chosen from among 156 countries to host the event because of its transport facilities (airport, bus terminals), hotels, conference venue, one-stop shop of Albay’s top-of-the-line products.

Along with these amenities, the province offers the UNTWO delegates unique tourism activities such as year-round festivals, cultural heritage sites and ecotourism and the iconic endowments of the 2,500- meter high Mount Mayon.

The province is also noted for its world-renowned emergency response capacity with the first and only Climate Change Academy in the world put up by the United Nations Development Program. .

The DOT and Albay has allocated some P18 million for these three events.

Albay police arrest 10 wanted persons in 4 days

(PNA) CTB/FGS/EMC/CBD/rsm

LEGAZPI CITY (PNA) -- On May 9, elements of the Legazpi City Police Office arrested Eric A. Agripa, 18 and single, at his residence in Quinapahan, Barangay Puro here by virtue of warrant of arrest (WOA) issued by Judge Maria Theresa G. San Juan-Loquillano, presiding judge of Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 10, Legazpi City, for homicide docketed under Criminal Case No. 12715 with bail recommended fixed at Php40,000.

At about 7:30 a.m. on May 8, elements of Guinobatan Municipal Police Office arrested Lorenzo A. Magdaong, 19, single and a resident of Barangay Inamnan Pequeño, Guinobatan, Albay, at Centro Poblacion, Guinobatan, by virtue of WOA issued by Judge Mel-Gerald Nieva of Municipal Trial Court of Guinobatan for attempted homicide, docketed under CC No. 8876 with bail fixed at Php12,000.

On the same date, at about 10:15 a.m. at Barangay Masarawag, Guinobatan, the same team arrested Ricky O. Enciso, 26, single and a resident of the place by virtue of a WOA issued by Judge Noel R. Rubio of Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) Branch 3, Legazpi City, docketed under CC # 28552 for slight physical injury (contempt of court).

Subsequently, at about 3:20 p.m. of the same date, this time at Barangay Lower Binogsacan, Guinobatan, another group of the GMPO arrested Bernel O. Suarez, a resident of the place, by virtue of a WOA issued by Judge Isabelo T. Rojas of RTC Branch 8, Legazpi City, for violation of RA 9262, docketed under CC No. FC-14-1477 with bail fixed at Php24,000.00.

In another development, elements of Tabaco City Police Office arrested Reynold B. Deolata, 19, single and a resident of Purok 4, Barangay Sto Cristo, Tabaco City, by virtue of a WOA issued by Judge Alben Rabe of RTC Branch 15, Tabaco City, docketed under Criminal Case No. T-5759 for homicide with bail fixed at Php120,000.00.

At about 5:45 a.m. on May 8 at Barangay Fatima, Tabaco City, elements of TCPO arrested Elmer B. Brondo, 26, single and a resident of Purok 1, Fatima, Tabaco City.

Brondo was arrested by virtue of a WOA issued by Judge Joan C. Mosatalla of MTCC, Tabaco City for theft docketed under Criminal Case No. 905 with bail fixed at Php10,000.

In Pioduran, joint operatives of the Albay Police Provincial Public Safety Company, 5th Regional Public Safety Battalion, Philippine Army and Pioduran Municipal Police Office arrested Nestor O. Odeña by virtue of four WOAs: 1) issued by Judge Emmanuel R. Real of RTC Branch 11, Ligao City, for murder, docketed under Criminal Case No. 3653; 2) issued by Judge Romulo SG. Villanueva of RTC Branch 12, Ligao City, for arson, docketed under Criminal Case No. 3660, with bail fixed at Php200,000; 3) issued by Judge Jose Sañes of RTC Branch 14, Ligao City, for robbery in band, docketed under Criminal Case No. 3033, with no bail recommended; and 4) issued by Judge Romulo SG. Villanueva of RTC Br. 12, Ligao City, for murder, docketed under Criminal Case No. 3655, with no bail recommended.

Odeña was arrested at about 11:30 p.m. May 7 at Sitio Kinuruban, Barangaya Mamlad, Pioduran, Albay.

Earlier, elements of Rapu-Rapu Municipal Police Office arrested on May 6 Marcial B. Bista, Rafael B. Cabilles and Glicerio V. Cerillo -- all residents of the Barangay Nagcalsot, Rapu-Rapu, Albay, by virtue of a WOA issued by Judge Nestor M. Hermida, presiding judge, Municipal Trial Court in Cities Branch 1, 5th Judicial Region, Sorsogon City, for violation of Provincial Ordinance No. 007-93 (Illegal Fishing) docketed under CC# 07-342.

Albay to further boost its scholarship program

By Johnny C. Nunez [(PNA), SCS/JCN/PJN]

LEGAZPI CITY, May 11 (PNA) -- From its initial 34,000 enrollment in 2007, Albay’s novel college scholarship program has already benefitted 76,137 scholars, many of whom have already graduated and are now either gainfully employed here and abroad or are now productive entrepreneurs.

The program hopes to further increase its beneficiaries to 188,000 by 2016.

The Albay Higher Education Contribution Scheme (AHECS), a ‘study now pay later program’ pioneered by Gov. Joey Salceda, aims to produce a corps of technically trained and employable manpower out of its trainable human resources, with a specific goal of producing at least one college graduate for every Albayano family by 2016.

AHECS constitutes a component strategy of the ‘Albay Boom’ anti-poverty and economic development scheme which is supported by strong programs in tourism, health and education, among others.

Albay is the only province and the only local government unit (LGU) in the Philippines which has institutionalized a provincial education department, created by the Albay Provincial Board and duly approved by the Civil Service Commission, the Department of Education and the Department of Budget and Management.

Funded with a P700-million loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) secured in 2010, AHECS is hailed as among Albay’s more effective development strategies, patterned after the Australian scholarship program that beats the United States educational system.

Of the P700-million earmarked for AHECS, Salceda said Albay’s outstanding loan with LBP now stands at only P380 million, suggesting that the province had been duly prudent with the expenditure.

AHECS, according to Salceda, dwells on the principle of value for money, as in the case of the Bicol University (BU) — now among the country’s leading universities on which the government spends P32,000 subsidy per student.

“BU charges only P5,000 per student per semester and so by funding more enrolees, we are able to procure high quality education worth P32,000 for only P5,000, which is the AHECS loan,” Salceda explained.

He added that with college education now reduced to only two years, all the more LGUs should help fund scholarships and tuition loans, adding that the “push of the provincial administration for college education in Albay is backed by economic analytics and geared towards long-term competitiveness, not just short-term returns to the economy or to the individuals.”

Private schools and local community colleges in the province, with none or very little government subsidy, such as Aquinas University and Divine Word College, account for 66 percent of AHECS enrolment. State universities and colleges account for the remaining 34%, charging only basic tuition fees.

AHECS also forms a dimension of the Education Quality for Albayanos (EQUAL) scholarship project for the secondary level, which has likewise been hailed a success.

In emphasizing the benefits of the scholarship program, Salceda referred to US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s opinion, who said that "For individuals, the economic returns to education are substantial. In 2006, the median weekly earnings of college graduates were 75 percent higher than the earnings of high-school graduates. In turn, workers with a high-school degree earned 42 percent more than those without any diploma."

Salceda said the program is managed by a full-staff complement of highly competent educators and administrators. Under AHECS, Albay gives P5,000 financial assistance every semester for each student-beneficiary enrolled in 53 public and private universities and colleges, and technical vocational schools within the province.

Spending for education, according to Salceda, has a higher recovery potential than road projects, more so, since AHECS is a study now, pay later scheme, which means it offers more opportunities for cost recovery by the provincial government as against investments in roads, which is more roundabout. Road investments lead to modest property values which result to higher RPT which becomes the recovery capture.

Albay has likewise performed impressively in related education concerns. In the National Achievement Test, it has climbed from Rank 177 out of 183 in 2007 to No. 35 out of 202 in 2013; it has improved participation rate from 72% in 2007 to 98% in 2013 in the elementary per PIDS-UNESCO study; its present dropout rate of only 0.2% is impressively much lower than the 1.3% national average per the same study; its present 76,137 scholars in tertiary education is the largest pool ever outside of the National Government, whether public (LGUs) or private (Cocofed); the hike in its 34,000 college scholars from out of 1.1 million population in 2007 to 188,000 out of 1.3 million population in 2016 is certainly notable.

In terms of school enrollment, while national figures have declined, Albay’s enrollment has increased; while Naga and Camarines Sur have a combined population of 1.8 million, Albay has put more people in college; and its allocation for education has increased from 1.0 to 29% of the provincial budget. Moreover, the institutionalization of the Albay Provincial Education Department is the first and the only one of its kind in Philippine history.


3 plush hotels in Legazpi to house delegates to UNWTO’s triple meetings this month

(PNA)

LEGAZPI CITY – The three most expensive hotels here have been assigned as official residents of national and foreign dignitaries invited to attend three international gatherings which the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is holding in the city on May 15-20, this year.

The gatherings are for the 40th Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN), Plus Three National Tourism Organizations; 26th Joint Meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Commission for East Asia and the Pacific; and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia UNWTO-ASEAN International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change.

Over 1,000 delegates representing 21 member-countries in the Asia-Pacific regions are expected to attend.

In their six-day stay, these delegates will be billeted at The Oriental Hotel and Resort, St. Ellis Hotel and Hotel Venezia, all classy accommodation facilities located within the heart of the city.

The Oriental, which has also been designated as venue of the meetings, is a plush hotel and resort located atop Taysan Hill overlooking the alluring and cordial cityscape and the blue waters of Albay Gulf amid a backdrop of the iconic Mayon Volcano.

Exquisitely styled in classic ivory tones, this hotel — considered one of the finest in Bicol and the first all-season resort for leisure and business travelers — has daily room rates, all classified first class fixed at US$ 90 for deluxe and US$ 120 for executive suites.

St. Ellis, which is described as a modern-day interpretation of timeless elegance, is a posh hotel located at the heart of the city’s vibrant downtown, three kilometers from the airport.

Its accommodations, also branded as first class, costs US$ 64 daily for deluxe rooms and US$ 76 for junior suites.

Hotel Venezia, which is located within the Renaissance Village — an exclusive subdivision near the Legazpi airport, is a 40-room boutique hotel which is a combination of beautiful surroundings with the warmth of a home and the modern conveniences of a business hotel. Its daily room rates are US$ 80 for a junior suite and US$ 119 for a one-bedroom suite.

The 40th Meeting of the ASEAN, Plus Three National Tourism Organizations meeting will be attended by only the ASEAN member-states that are also members of UNWTO.

Delegates to this meeting, which include those coming from India, and several guests will arrive on May 14, according to a program of activities obtained by the PNA here Thursday.

They will be given a welcome reception at the poolside of Oriental Hotel by the Albay provincial government headed by Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda and will be treated to a dinner at the Ligñon Hill Natural Park by the city government under Mayor Noel Rosal.

Ligñon Hill is a 156-meter peak that stands as one of the city’s prime destinations featuring a carefully-designed landscape that caters to restaurants and shops on its summit where sightseers have a panoramic 360-degree view of the entire city, its neighboring towns of Daraga and Sto. Domingo, Albay Gulf and the southern slopes of the Mayon Volcano.

The joint CAP-CSA meeting, which is UNWTO´s principal annual event in the Asia Pacific Region, has as one key item on the agenda for this meeting set on May 18 — the debate on air connectivity in the region.

Delegates to this meeting will start arriving here on May 17 wherein they will be accorded with a welcome reception by the Department of Tourism (DOT) at the nearby Misibis Bay Resort, a private tropical hideaway built on a pristine stretch of beach along the southern tip of Cagraray island in Bacacay, Albay, which is considered as the luxury island playground in the Philippines.

The UNWTO-ASEAN International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change, on the other hand, is scheduled on May 19-20, wherein President Benigno S. Aquino III is expected to deliver a keynote address in the opening program.

This international conference will seek to analyze the effects of climate change on tourism, particularly in the Asia Pacific region, and endeavor to strengthen the industry´s ability to adapt to threats and utilize opportunities that arise as a result of climate change, according to Maria Ong-Ravanilla, the DOT Bicol regional director.

This in line with the responsibility of UNWTO as the UN agency for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability among member-nations, Ravanilla said.

Member-nations coming from the East Asia and the Pacific which will be represented in the meeting include the Philippines, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, South Korea, Fiji, Hongkong, China, Indonesia, Japan, Macao, China, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

South Asia member-states that are expected to join the gatherings are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Member-countries from the Middle East, Africa, Europe and the Americas may also join the event — including other non-member states that have signified intentions to observe the proceedings, Ravanilla said.

Invitations were also extended to UNWTO affiliate members in the Asia-Pacific region and selected international and regional organizations within the region that include the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation and Pacific Asia Travel Association, she added.

WPF to donate automated weather stations to Albay

By Danny O. Calleja [(PNA), CTB/FGS/DOC/CBD/]

LEGAZPI CITY, May 9 (PNA) – The Weather Philippines Foundation, Inc. (WPF) is donating automated weather stations (AWS) that will be strategically positioned in three municipalities of Albay as part of a commitment to help the provincial government in its disaster risk reduction initiatives.

“We will be happy to provide you with our meteorologists’ inputs and training programs with no cost to the province. We will also conduct an AWS installation and maintenance training with your team to help support this endeavor,” WPF general manager Celso Caballero III told Albay Gov. Joey Salceda in a recent communication.

WPF is a private, non-profit organization that puts together the resources of Aboitiz Group and the technical expertise of Meteomedia, a Swiss company, in its desire to become the country's premiere private weather information provider.

The foundation, which plans to put up roughly 1,000 AWS devices across the country, according to Caballero, aims to deliver critical and accurate weather forecasts to the Filipino community, with the hope of improving nationwide disaster preparedness and timely response to variable weather conditions.

The foundation, he said, was able to secure funds from AP Renewables, Inc. (APRI), through its parent organization -- the Aboitiz Power, which allowed it to carry on with its mission to aid in disaster risk reduction for years.

With the fund, WPF plans to finish installing its target number of AWS devices nationwide and to operate its weather forecasting portal for the next ten years.

Chosen as priority areas in Albay and throughout the Bicol region for the installation of these state-of-the art weather forecasting stations are the municipalities of Libon, Rapu-Rapu and Tiwi that are strategically located around the province, Caballero said.

Libon, which is located at the province’s western section and shares boundaries with the province of Camarines Sur, is a second class town of nearly 70,000 population.

It has a land area of 222.76 square kilometers occupied by 47 barangays that are mostly engaged in agriculture, making the municipality the province’s biggest producer of rice.

Rapu-Rapu, a third class island municipality, sits on the eastern side and is separated by Albay Gulf from the mainland of the province.

Occupied by about 38,000 people distributed among the three sub-islands that are are composed of 34 barangays, the municipality is the biggest contributor to the marine fishery industry of the province -- with the coastal waters of Pacific Ocean serving as its principal fishing ground.

Tiwi, which is home to the giant geothermal energy field contributing some over 300 megawatts of electricity to the Luzon power grid, is a first class municipality on the northern coast of the province.

It occupies a total land area of 105.76 square kilometers with a population of over 50,000 people.

Since Albay is located along the path usually being followed by typhoons emanating from the Pacific Ocean, Caballero said it is just wise that the province -- known for its exemplary performance in disaster risk reduction management (DRRM) -- is made beneficiary of these weather monitoring equipment from WPF.

Albay is an ideal model in building a resilient, safe community during times of disaster events, he said, citing a recent study that showed the province’s DRRM model playing a significant role in protecting lives of people and at the same time, making communities strong and safe from any catastrophic event that may take place.

The province’s DRRM, Caballero said, has an effective and efficient system in monitoring and implementing disaster operations, backed up with adequate logistical and legislative policy support towards a zero-casualty goal every time natural calamities occur.

LandBank releases P380.7M for 76,137 Albay scholars in 4 years

(PNA), LAP/FGS/NIM/CBD/UTB

LEGAZPI CITY, May 8 (PNA) -- The Land Bank of the Philippines has released P380.685 million out its P700-million loan grant to the Provincial Government of Albay for 76, 137 scholars of the province through its Albay Higher Education Contribution Scheme (AHECS).

The balance of the P700-million financial assistance is still with the bank.

Under the AHECS, the Albay local government unit gives P5,000 financial assistance every semester for each student-beneficiary of the scheme.

The Albay LGU has 53 universities, private colleges, community colleges and technical vocational schools as partners in the program.

The AHECS is part of the Universal Education Program of Governor Joey Sarte Salceda and is being administered by Provincial Education Department (PED) headed by Dr. Nenita B. Villalon.

The program is anchored on the desire of the provincial chief executive to make the province of Albay the bastion of education in Luzon with the help of all sectors of the community.

It is a "study now pay later plan" based on the educational model of Australia to enable students to finish their search for education.

Some 76,137 student-grantees in the tertiary level have already received loan assistance under the program since 2010 to 2014, based on the records of the PED.

She said her office undertakes a thorough and strict validation process in considering a student loan proponent before he or she could be included in the master list of PED.

In releasing check vouchers to the student grantees, they should bring their properly accomplished enrollment form and valid identification card, she added.

For schools near the PED, like those in the City of Legazpi, the students personally get the check from their office.

For those located in far schools like those in the first and the second districts of the province, a PED employee personally goes to the partner school to give the checks to the grantees.

Villalon said the list of grantees at the PED is available to the AHECS beneficiaries as they have a data base for them.

She clarified that the names of the grantees are recorded in the data base with their addresses, schools, loan amounts, dates of release or loan availment.

If the student is a transferee and his or her grant is cancelled, this will reflect in his or her record.

Based on the contract signed by a grantee and the PED, Villalon said, the beneficiary should pay the Provincial Government ng Albay two years after graduation, with four payment schemes, through the Provincial Treasurer's Office.

Currently, the PED personnel updating the payment records of the grantees.

Based on their records, some P264,000 have already been paid by those who have graduated under the program, especially those who took technical vocational courses.

The first payment record was on January 31, 2011 and the latest was on March 25, 2013.

Villalon said their office is always ready for any questions raised by the public about AHECS and other programs of their office.

Albay highlights 3 UNWTO global events with cultural feasts

(PNA), LAM/JCN/UTB

LEGAZPI CITY, May 7 (PNA) -- Now emerging as a favorite venue for important global events, Albay unleashes a cultural feast for three conferences of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) set May 15-20, here and in various places of the province. The fares are expected to further boost Albay.s tourism industry and economic growth.

Multi-cultural showcase dinners have been organized for the three events -- the 40th Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Three National Tourism Organizations, May 15-17; the 26th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commissions for East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia, May 18; and the UNWTO - ASEAN Conference on Tourism and Climate Change on May 19-20.

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said the provincial government will roll out a red carpet Luau Party for the UNWTO-ASEAN conference at the Oriental Hotel and Resort in this city, a retro-themed dinner at the historic grounds of the world-famous Cagsawa Ruins, and a Tertulia Party at the patio of the 17th century hill-top, Baroque inspired, Nuestra Senora de Porteria Church in Daraga town.

Salceda said the Department of Tourism (DOT) will also host a ‘Fun and Fancy’ Party at the Oriental Hotel and Resort and an ‘All White’ Dinner at the luxury island hideaway MIsibis Bay Resort in Bacacay town, while the Legazpi City Government will host a native Barrio Fiesta Dinner at the Lignon Hill, under the shadow of the perfect-cone Mayon Volcano.

The events will bring in more than 400 officials from 21 countries in Asia and their support staff. Salceda noted the events require the services of some 90 convention assistants and 30 convention liaison staff personnel.

Albay has also give special concern to food preparation, with the assurance that about 50 percent of the cuisines should be acceptable to the Muslim participants, with Halal stations for 30 percent. Salceda said the protocol officers — all members of the multi-awarded Team Albay — assigned with the ASEAN-UNTWO three-day conference, have already undergone the required Seminar Workshop on Protocol and Social Graces sponsored by the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Some 30 tour guides from DOT and the Provincial Tourism Office and another 30 usherettes from the Albay Pageant Academy, have also been given refresher’s trainings to beef up the conferences’ manpower support. In addition, all 90 convention assistants shall wear stylized traditional native costumes designed by the province’s 12 top designers.

Salceda also disclosed that a 146-page coffee table book featuring Albay's ecotourism assets and activities, dishes and dining, resorts and facilities, festivals and pageants, churches and historical , has also been published to provide delegates a quick tour of the province's tourism potentials.

The events further consolidate Albay’s stature in the global travel industry and boost its economic battlecry: Albay Boom! The three UNTWO events coincide with the month-long Philippine-US Balikatan 2014 and precede the 2015 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit, many events of which will be hosted by Albay, starting December this year.

Albay, with its natural tourism wealth and strong sales pitch, has enjoyed both national and international attention recently. DOT figures show some 800,000 foreign and local tourists visited the province 2013, contributing to a 66% tourism growth, and making it the country’s tourism powerhouse.

Retraining awaits sacked Bicol police chiefs who flanked performance audit

(PNA), LAP/FGS/DOC/CBD/

LEGAZPI CITY, May 6 (PNA) –- Bicol regional police director Chief Supt. Victor Deona is making good his promise that station chiefs in any of the region’s 107 towns who would fail the ongoing performance audit will be sacked.

And as additional consequence, they will be sent back to the police Regional Training School (RTS) for rigid refresher training, Deona on Tuesday announced in Camp Gen. Simeon Ola, the Philippine National Police (PNP) regional headquarters here.

He made the announcement three months after he issued a warning that those municipal chiefs of police who would fail to accomplish their regular performance targets will be removed from their respective posts.

The warning also covers provincial police directors in all the six provinces of the region.

Following the issuance of the warning, Deona created a body that evaluates the monthly accomplishments of the police units under these commanders and those who will be found out to have not met their targets by the end of the quarter are sure to suffer the consequences.

The evaluation board will reconvene this week to summarize into quarter reports their findings covering the months of February, March and April, this year.

The evaluation process involves the accomplishments of all police field units in the region in their anti-criminality campaign, police-community relations (PCR), gender awareness, community organization and mobilization, police assistance and personnel development, he said.

Under this year’s target for anti-criminality, each municipal or city chief of police should recover at least one unlicensed or loose firearm—either surrendered or confiscated—per month.

For police stations covering capital towns, cities or bigger and urbanized localities, the monthly firearm target is higher at three so that the overall result would hit the goal of three percent per month in the reduction of loose firearms in the region, according to Deona.

Based on police records collated through latest intelligence reports and list of un-renewed gun licenses, there are about 30,000 loose firearms in Bicol -- some 11,000 of them in Camarines Sur, the biggest in number compared to the other five provinces of the region.

Albay comes next with 7,829; followed by Masbate, 4,403; Camarines Norte, 2,860; Sorsogon, 2,777; and Catandunes, 694.

Also under the anti-criminality campaign is the one on illegal drugs wherein police offices covering smaller municipalities must have apprehended at least one drug personality in possession of prohibited stuff per month.

Higher number of arrests of at least two must have been achieved in urban towns and cities.

This is to reduce the supply and demand of illegal drugs in the region by at least five percent per month, Deona explained.

Each chief of police must have also had initiated at least one successful operation against illegal gambling and logging in their respective areas of responsibility with the corresponding case filed in court each month while the same number of accomplishment is set against illegal fishing in coastal municipalities or cities.

In illegal logging, recovered “abandoned” forest products would be credited as an accomplishment, he clarified.

In the implementation of the Police Integrated Patrol System, each police station must have conducted 31 foot patrols and 31 mobile patrols each month, as well as a total of 12 checkpoints or three times a week.

They must also have conducted four Oplan Bakal Operations each month under the task of recovering loose firearms and checking the carrying of firearms in prohibited places like entertainment houses.

Deona said he also expects local police offices to have reduced their respective index crime volume by at least 10 incidents during the quarter, based on each town’s baseline index crime for 2013.

Furthermore, each office should post a Crime Solution Efficiency of 35 percent and Crime Clearance Efficiency of 50 percent.

A crime is considered cleared if the case has been filed although the suspect is still at large while a crime is considered solved if the case has been filed and the suspect has been arrested.

In the arrest of wanted persons, all police offices have been given a target of five percent of the total number of wanted persons not arrested in 2013 plus those covered by arrest warrants for 2014.

To strengthen these campaigns, PCR activities must have been conducted at least once a month by each police office.

These community relation activities must be in line with the PNP PCR Master Plan that mandates among others the implementation of Oplan Santinig, a police mission to provide adequate, accurate, relevant and timely information about the PNP programs and activities and to clarify relevant issues relevant thru tri-media.

Under this mission, each police office has been given a monthly target of four police institutional information, three community awareness lectures and dialogues or “pulong-pulong”, three lectures on Violence Against Women and Children and one Gender Awareness Development seminar or workshop.

The PCR Master Plan’s components, Deona explained, involve awareness and education wherein communities are subjected to face-to-face interactions to educate, enlighten and create an understanding of the police programs.

The principal purpose of PCR activities is to awaken citizens on their responsibility in the peace and order effort and to the national development programs, he said.

“The old ‘business-as-usual attitude’ is no longer acceptable in police operations this time. What is important is action as we also have abolished action planning,” Deona said, noting that most government agencies get busy on action planning at the start of the year but accomplish only plans, not action.

Albay’s heritage saving efforts highlight observance of Heritage Month

By PABLO A. TARIMAN

THE fate of historic El Hogar Building in Binondo, the few remaining months of Philamlife Theater, the nomination of Cagsawa Ruins in the UNESCO heritage list are just some of heritage subjects that come to mind as the country observes National Heritage Month with assorted programs all over the country.

Facing eminent demolition is the El Hogar Building built in 1914 and certainly one of the eminent financial buildings that symbolized architectural beauty during its time. Conservation experts noted that the building was conceptualized by one Antonio Melian and was built as a wedding gift for the union of a Zobel daughter and a Peruvian count. It is described as a “beautiful beaux-arts building” and “having combined some Romanesque features”

Also endangered of being erased from Manila’s cultural map is the 780-seater Philamlife Theater sold last year to SM Development Corporation. Theater was built by Bolt, Beranek & Newman, which also did the acoustics of the Sydney Opera House, United Nations Assembly Hall in New York, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Cultural Center of the Philippines and Baltimore’s Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall.

The Philamlife building was designed by Filipino architect Carlos Arguelles and built in 1961 and has since then associated with first-rate performances of pianist Cecile Licad, tenor Otoniel Gonzaga, Italian opera icon Renata Tebaldi and American mezzo Marian Anderson. The idea of the theatre being turned into a shopping mall has alarmed the classical music community. PPO’s music director Olivier Ochanine has launched an online petition asking the theater’s new owner to spare the auditorium.

Heritage consciousness month opened last March 31 with the 493rd commemoration of the first mass in the Philippines in Limasawa, Southern Leyte.

The Bicol celebration started opened last May 1 at the Daraga Church in Albay with related observance in Masbate and Sorsogon now part of the tourism triangle of ALMASOR.

Present were Gov. Salceda, Legaspi Mayor Noel Rosal, Daraga Mayor Gerry Jaucian and NCCA chair Felipe Padilla de Leon, Jr. and NCCA Commissioner Fr. Harold Rentoria, OSA.

The NCCA borrowed the Ilocano word for heritage “Taoid” as the centerfold of the nation-wide celebration and subsequent events all over the country have been referred to as the “Pamanang Pinoy Taoid 2014.”

As part of the celebration, the NCCA cultural heritage committee said it will conduct extensive assessment of different cultural properties and institutions of Daraga, Legazpi City, Sorsogon, and Masbate City such as museums, historical markers, heritage houses, artist organizations and galleries, libraries, and the Cagsawa Ruin.

The observance of Heritage Month was mandated by Proclamation No. 439, signed on Aug. 11, 2003, declaring the month of May as National Heritage Month (NHM) “in recognition of the need to create among the people a consciousness, respect, and pride for the legacies of Filipino cultural history, and love of country.” In 2009, the government formally made heritage conservation a legal mandate, by ratifying and implementing Republic Act 10066 or the National Heritage Act of 2009, empowering NCCA and its affiliated agencies in their policy-making and implementation of conservation programs.


Like it or not, Albay may rank as number one in the promotion of its heritage sites the most famous of which is the Cagsawa Church Ruins which has been nominated as a cultural heritage site with UNESCO.

Salceda said that if the Cagsawa Ruins nomination is validated, it will join the five World Heritage Sites of UNESCO in the Philippines like the Banaue Rice Terraces, Vigan Old Houses, Tubbataha Reef, Baroque Churches and Underground River of Palawan.

Earlier, the province has earlier set aside some P35 million for the protection and preservation of its vast cultural heritage sites.

Albay Governor Joey Salceda said the destruction of heritage sites in Bohol and Cebu caused by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and the remaining ones in Samar and Leyte caused by Typhoon Yolanda are to him the biggest lessons on how to conserve historic heritage sites.

Salceda said the destruction of heritage site in the Visayas is the basis for the P35 million outlay for the protection of Albay’s century old churches and sites.

“This initial amount is our initial investment in cultural heritage preservation which started last year. These cultural assets provide the empirical, tangible and qualitative basis for uniqueness, ethnicity and pride of a place and more so, they are our comparative advantage for attracting tourists, investors and traders,” Salceda said.

Apart from the Cagsawa ruins and its Iglesia, Casa Real and Ayuntamiento; the other heritage sites in the province include the Porteria Church on top of a hill in Daraga town; the Sinimbahanan Ruins in Tiwi town ; the Convento Ruins in Malinao; the Tabaco Church in Tabaco City; the ancestral house of writer-poet Angela Manalang Gloria in Tabaco City; the Bacacay Ruins in Bacacay; the double belfry church of Santo Domingo; the Budiao Ruins in Daraga; the colonial houses of Daraga and Camalig; the Camalig Church; the Oas Church; the Colegio de San Buenaventura in Guinobatan; the Gen. Simeon Ola Museum; the Cathedral de San Gregorio Magno in Albay District, Legazpi City; and, the Nuestra Senora de Salvacion in Joroan, Tiwi town.

In his message to the NCCA Taoid program in Daraga town, Salceda said heritage conservation has been the focus of the yearly Daragang Magayon Festival with its revivals of Bicol dance, poetry and music and the preservation of Albay’s culinary heritage.

In the same manner, the festival’s spirit of Daragang Magayon has enabled the province to preserve the spirit of constant kindness. “This spirit helps us focus on the positive and that is the reason we are the first to respond to victims of Typhoon Yolanda through our Team Albay which has helped other provinces equally in distress from the flood victims of Marikina to the earthquake victims of Leyte and Bohol, the typhoon victims of Davao del Sur to the cholera victims of Catanduanes.”

Legazpi wins bid to host Mason convention in 2015

By Danny O. Calleja [(PNA), CTB/FGS/DOC/CBD/RSM]

LEGAZPI CITY, May 4 (PNA) -– This prime tourism city in Bicol that also emerges as one of the country’s convention capitals will play host to the 99th Annual Convention (AnCon) of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines next year, Mayor Noel Rosal announced on Sunday.

Rosal, who holds the title Worshipful Master of the Mayon Lodge No. 61 of the fraternity, said the convention is expected to be participated in by over 5,000 members representing the over 350 lodges in more than 50 Masonic districts nationwide.

“We won in the bidding for the hosting of the 2015 grand gathering which was decided by members during the 98th AnCom held at SMX Mall of Asia last April 25,” Rosal said in his announcement.

He said the city won the privilege because Mayon Lodge No. 61 was able to convince the Grand Lodge that “we are very much capable of hosting this big event based on the availability of standard and world-class accommodation facilities and venues for the various activities of the AnCom.”

The city has enough hotels that include The Oriental, Ninong’s, St. Ellis, La Fiazza and Venezia, among others, to house the delegates during their three-day stay here, while for the convention, the city government’s Ibalong Centrum for Recreation (ICR) is an ideal venue that could conveniently accommodate all the participants and guests, Rosal said.

“And since the AnCom does not go without a sports fest, fun games, gaiety and tours, Legazpi -- which now known in the world’s travel industry as the City of Fun and Adventure -- is exactly the best place for the gathering,” he said.

Participants will surely enjoy the cool ambiance of the Legazpi Boulevard for their leisure walks and physical fitness activities.

The boulevard is a coastal road network extending from the city’s central business district and port area to its southern barangays and is a favorite recreation area for the city, owing to its cool, fresh sea breeze gently blowing from the gulf.

In mornings and afternoons, locals, visitors and tourists rendezvous at the boulevard for their outdoor physical fitness rituals.

It is considered the longest outside Manila and one of the most picturesque seaside roads in the Philippines, with a spectacular view of the Mayon Volcano and Albay Gulf.

Along the boulevard lies the Kapuntukan Hill, a historical landmark also called the “sleeping lion” where a monument to the great Spanish conquistador Miguel Lopez de Legazpi stands near its foot.

Ligñon Hill Natural Park, a 156-meter peak ,is another place to visit as it features a carefully-designed landscape that caters to restaurants and shops on its summit that offers sightseers a panoramic 360-degree view of the entire city, its neighboring towns of Daraga and Sto. Domingo, Albay Gulf and the southern slopes of Mayon Volcano.

Certainly, Rosal said, they are not going to skip Embarcadero de Legazpi, a privately-owned P1-billion world-class waterfront lifestyle hub at the city harbor, the first of its kind in Southern Luzon.

With a beaming search light on top of its shimmering lighthouse and colorful lights reflecting on seawaters, nocturnal party-goers are drawn to this newfound haven where serene nature meets stylish urban living.

More than a venue for shopping, dining and entertainment, Embarcadero is also home to one-of-a-kind adventure sport, the 350-meter zipline from a lighthouse over the Albay Gulf.

The Mason AnCom will be the biggest event so far slated in Bicol, particularly here next year that is also expected to be graced by foreign dignitaries coming from various Lodges abroad, Rosal said.

Being held every fourth week of April, the gathering provides the opportunity for the international fraternity to revisit past accomplishments, enable it to come up with strategies and set the directions for the incoming Masonic year, according to Rosal.

Freemasonry is the oldest and largest fraternity in the world and uses the ancient tools and symbols of masons to teach timeless lessons about ethics and morality.

Freemasons believe in the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, and the brotherhood of man.

Freemasonry strives to teach a man the duty he owes to God, his country, his neighbor, his family and himself.

Masonry does not say anything about politics or the God that individual Masons worship.

Men from all religions are welcome and discussion of religion and politics are avoided in the Lodge, while study of literature by great writers and other material is encouraged but no specific works are sanctioned.

By the very nature of Freemasonry, there is no such thing as a Masonic authority that has the power to dictate to Masons what to think or do.

“With the likes of our national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, former president Manuel L. Quezon, and well-renowned inventor Benjamin Franklin, Freemasons has inspired Filipinos to live a life of service to his country and fellowmen as they are guided by the principles of charity, moral uprightness, and fraternal friendship,” Rosal said.

From their ranks come many of the nation’s patriots and distinguished citizens, established leaders not only in their fields but also in their communities and in the national arena, he added.

The 99th AnCom will be the second to be held in Bicol in four years as the 96th AnCom was held in Naga City on April 2012.

Bicol lawmaker proposes privatization of PNR

(PNA), JBP/HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES-PR/PJN

MANILA, May 3 (PNA) -- A Bicolano lawmaker has proposed the privatization of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) to pave way for the rehabilitation, upgrade and efficient maintenance of the country’s mass transit system.

Rep. Al Francis Bichara (2nd District, Albay) filed House Bill 4135, which seeks to address the transit system’s sorry state.

Bichara, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, said it is both a fact and common knowledge that the government has failed to maximize the utilization of its railway system due mainly to lack of funds.

“Short of totally neglecting this asset, the government has allowed this transport system to deteriorate to the brink of extinction,” Bichara said.

Bichara said in developed and industrialized countries, such railway systems are constantly upgraded because these are critical component in ensuring continuous development.

According to Bichara, it is faster and more efficient to use trains in transporting people, machinery and products because of their carrying capacity and traffic-less runs between points of destination.

“Imagine if our PNR trains are upgraded and well maintained, commuters and cargo can be transported faster and safer. Time saved translates to productivity while agricultural produce by the bulk can easily be brought from the rural areas to the urban centers both for local consumption as well as export,” Bichara stressed.

Bichara said the government has failed to maximize the country’s export potential also because of the lack of means to transport highly perishable agricultural produce at the fastest possible time.

Ports can be connected by railways thus cargoes can be transported from the ports to the points of destination faster, thus cutting precious delivery time that is wasted in using slow moving trucks, traffic and truck bans, Bichara said.

Under the measure, the PNR will be sold through public auction after publication of at least twice a week for three weeks in a newspaper of general circulation and after a selection process made by the Privatization Council created under Executive Order 323.

The transfer shall take effect through the execution of a Deed of Assignment by the government agency in charge of PNR in favor of the highest bidder.

Payment for the license to operate the PNR may be made in installments and a Security Bond is executed.

The bill mandates the assignee to update, revise and improve the machinery, processing systems and other materials and equipment used for the proper functioning of the PNR.

Moreover, the assignee is also required to renew his license every year from the time of the assignment.

The premises of the principal office of the PNR shall be subject to regular inspections by the Department of Transportation and Communication and shall make a report after every inspection.

The bill also provides that the assignee shall not impose a fare higher or lower than the standard set for the assignor. Any change in the fare should be approved by the DOTC.

NCCA chair confirms Mayon’s worldwide popularity

By Nancy I. Mediavillo [(PNA), CTB/FGS/NIM/CBD/]

LEGAZPI CITY, May 2 (PNA) – National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA) chair Prof. Felipe de Leon on Thursday night confirmed that the Mayon Volcano is known worldwide and is written in almost all geology books as one with the most perfect cone shape.

De Leon said one who has his picture taken with Mayon in the background will already be identified as being in Albay.

He stressed that this is what the NCCA needs – the uniqueness of a place and its people.

The NCCA chair made these remarks at the opening of the National Heritage Month 2014 and the Taoid Heritage Program at the façade of the historically and culturally-rich Nuestra Señora de Porteria or Our Lady of the Gate Church, which sits atop a hill in the neighboring Daraga, Albay.

The event featured the signing of a memorandum of understanding on heritage conservation among the Province of Albay, National Commission on National Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the local government units of Legazpi City and Daraga, and Diocese of Legazpi.

It kicked off the NCCA’s annual national Taoid Heritage Program for the Albay-Sorsogon (Almasor) tourism cluster, which Albay Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda conceptualized and implemented as chair of the Regional Development Council for Bicol.

The celebration is pursuant to Presidential Proclamation Number 439, Series of 2003.

De Leon said the Manila Hemp should have been called Albay Hemp because abaca is the native product of Albay.

He said 64 percent of the country’s dollar earnings from the product comes from Albay.

The NCCA top official stressed the need to avoid the generic identity of a place because of commercialism, giving as a concrete example the Metro Manila.

De Leon said the Albayanos and Bicolanos are generally known for songs and dances like the pantomina – aside from being God-loving.

He said the NCCA is making a mapping of the cultural wealth of a place to help it rehabilitate its cultural assets by giving them funds.

The NCCA chair commended Salceda for his programs in preserving and enriching culture and the arts in the province.

He said his office will help local government units to find their own identities.

Rev Fr. Harold Rentoria, NCCA commissioner and head of the Subcommission on Cultural Heritage who was with De Leon, said his office has three programs on cultural heritage development.

Rentoria, an Albayano, said they will help LGUs in their projects but these LGUs should have local counterparts.

The NCCA commissioner said his group is eyeing the old houses and churches in Sorsogon while in Masbate for assistance, they are looking into the old beaches with extraordinary stones like in Ticao island.

NCCA sets cultural heritage conservation for Albay

By Johnny C. Nunez [(PNA), CTB/JCN/UTB]

DARAGA, Albay (PNA) -- With its rich cultural heritage, Albay has long embarked on a string of programs aimed at conserving its wealth of endowments and legacy, embodying the spirit of ‘heroism, love of nature, constant kindness, preparedness and resiliency.’

Albay Gov. Joey Salceda stressed the need for such conservation initiatives during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Heritage Conservation on May 1, among the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Albay province, Legazpi City and Daraga, and the Diocese of Legazpi, at the historic Nuestra Senora de Porteria Church, in this town.

The occasion also kicked off the NCCA’s annual national Taoid Heritage Celebration, a year-long heritage conservation program, for the Albay-Masbate-Sorsogon (Almasor) tourism alliance.

Salceda, convenor of the Almasor, said Albay’s cultural wealth and heritage are being actively conserved by, among others, 21 festivals celebrated in the province year-round, the most prominent of which is the month-long Daragang Magayon Festival which runs from April to May.

‘Taoid' is an Ilocano word which means heritage. It is ‘Dakit’ in Bicol, but also has varied meanings. In principle, Albay has long been practicing Taoid or Dakit, backed by a string of programs promoting the province’s rich cultural heritage, Salceda added.

He said Daragang Magayon Festival dwells on the mythical origins of Mayon Volcano, but also aims to awaken creativity and enjoin the participation of various sectors – artists, craftsmen, musicians, designers and dressmakers, carpenters, mechanics and technicians, and even street vendors.

Because of its initiatives, Salceda said, Albay has become globally popular and has been the favorite of foreign tourists among the six provinces of the Bicol Region, with some 339,445 foreign visitors last year. The Department of Tourism earlier reported Albay tourism grew 66% in 2013.

The ‘Spirit of Magayon’ Salceda shared, “embodies the principles by which Albayanos live their daily lives -- ‘heroism, love of nature, constant kindness, preparedness and resiliency.”

The MOU was signed by NCCA chairman Felipe M. de Leon, Salceda, Legazpi Mayor Noel Rosal, Daraga Mayor Gerry Jaucian, and Bishop Joel Baylon of the Diocese of Legazpi.

The site of the MOU signing, the richly historic 17th century hill-top Nuestra Senora de Porteria or Our Lady of the Gate Church in Daraga, which belongs to the Baroque architecture genre, was declared a national cultural treasure in 2007 by the National Museum.

Daraga town is the site of the equally historic and world famous Cagsawa Ruins at the foot of Mayon volcano. It now awaits UNESCO’s declaration as a World Heritage Site.

The Cagsawa Ruins is highlighted by the picturesque belfy tower of the huge Baroque church built by San Pedro Bautista, a Franciscan missionery. The church and the entire Cagsawa township was buried underground by the cataclysmic Mayon Volcano eruption in 1814 or exactly 2,000 years ago.

Taoid is the flagship program of NCCA’s Subcommission on Cultural Heritage (SCH), headed by Commissioner Fr. Harold Rentoria.

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