Cebu Province News March 2017

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Province of Cebu - Archived News

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.
Cebu metro.jpg
Aerial View of Metro Cebu

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.

MCWD’s Water Day spent with 100 kids

(SunStar Cebu)

TO celebrate World Water Day, the Metropolitan Cebu Water District (MCWD) and Vitens Evides International (VEI) recently held a handwashing activity in Tanke Elementary School in Talisay City.

At least 100 kindergarten pupils of the school participated in the handwashing activity where they learned the proper way of washing hands to ensure sanitation and cleanliness.

MCWD Acting General Manager Noel Dalena and VEI pro-poor water supply project manager Patrick Egan attended the event.

This year’s International World Water Day theme is Wastewater.

The World Health Organization said that globally, the vast majority of all the wastewater from homes, industry and agriculture flows back to nature without being treated or reused, thus, polluting drinking and bathing water sources.

VEI, MCWD, Netherlands Enterprise Agency, Red Cross and Tubig Pag-asa (Eau et Vie) are partners in a pro-poor water supply project called WatSup Cebu.

This project will expand MCWD’s network to slum areas and connecting 80,000 people to the supply of safe water, and Barangay Tanke is one of the recipients. The project also provides 27 generator sets at MCWD’s wellfields to ensure continuity of supply even during power outage and typhoons.

MCWD intends to put up a septage treatment plant that will cater to its consumers in the Cities of Mandaue, Cebu and Lapu-Lapu.

The project is in compliance with the Clean Water Act of 2004, which requires all local government units and water districts in the country to implement septage management programs.

For more details, contact Charmaine Rodriguez-Kara at 0917-3255970 or 256-0424.

DOLE-7 holds writeshop on project proposals for farmers, fisherfolks

By Juju Empuerto (rmn/jsme/PIA7-Cebu/DOLE-7)

CEBU CITY (PIA) -- Around 50 farmers and fishermen in Alegria town recently benefited from a free livelihood project proposal writeshop from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE-7).

According to Regional Labor Communication Officer Luchel Senarlo-Taniza, the two-day activity was attended by 50 women-participants.

DOLE-Cebu Provincial Field Office (CPFO) Chief Maria Grace Diaz conducted the workshop and covered the following topics: basic financial and marketing plan; operational strategies; preparation of budget requirements for enterprise development, added Taniza.

“The conduct of project proposal writeshops is necessary as part of the social preparation of would-be livelihood beneficiaries. In fact, during the pre-implementation phase of the DOLE’s Kabuhayan program, the Department has to ensure that beneficiaries shall be provided with training on how to plan, setup, start and operate their livelihood undertakings, which can be provided by partner-agencies,” said DOLE-7 Regional Director Exequiel Sarcauga.

Under the revised guidelines of the implementation of the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP), if a particular pre-implementation phase training cannot be provided by the DOLE’s partner agencies or by the project’s Accredited Co-Partner (ACP), it may be financed by the program funds so long as it is included in the project proposal or business plan.

“We’ve seen the wisdom of conducting write shops on livelihood project proposals and we believe that it can be benefited by those who wish to avail the Department’s livelihood program. For a start, we have to see sound, feasible, and viable project proposals before we get to approve and release financial assistance,” he added.

The common complaint of would-be beneficiaries, Sarcauga said, is that it is not easy to write project proposals.

He said farmers and fisher folks who are the usual beneficiaries of the livelihood program of the DOLE definitely find it extremely challenging to come up with good project proposals, which will describe what they hope to accomplish, why chosen objectives are important, and how they will be able to achieve them.

“We thank the CPFO through the leadership of Diaz for conducting project proposal writeshops on a regular basis. Advocacies like these are very important and we hope that the constituents of Alegria, Cebu, who participated in the activity, would put their knowledge to good use by crafting commendable project proposals for their future livelihood undertakings,” Sarcauga said.

Diaz commended the active participation of women in most DOLE initiated-activities as demonstrated by the women-participants in the municipality of Alegria.

“There is a need to empower and include them in the DOLE’s development and capacity-building efforts as they are one of the most disadvantaged and marginalized sectors in the community,“ Diaz said.

Diaz added that as proposals are vetted on their viability, DOLE religiously conducts writeshops to guide project proponents to come up with informed decisions to make their chosen livelihood programs sustainable in the long run.

Livelihood projects identified across the regions have already been enrolled to be transformed to an enterprise level through the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (SLF).

The implementation of SLF enhances the entrepreneurial capacity and productivity; improves competitiveness of products or services; and improves income level and quality of life of the beneficiaries.

New flight links Chongqing, Cebu

(PNA/Xinhua)

CHONGQING, March 29 (PNA/Xinhua) -- A direct air route between Chongqing in southwest China, and Cebu in the Philippines, has been launched.

Sichuan Airlines will ply the route with an Airbus A321. The four-hour flight will depart Chongqing every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, the airlines said.

The new route is expected to promote the Philippines as a vacation destination to Chinese tourists, and will make travel between the two cities more convenient.

Camotes Island gets P2.8M assistance from Capitol

By Le Phyllis F. Antojado (The Freeman)

CEBU, Philippines - Ronnie Garbe, a farmer from Barangay Santa Cruz, San Francisco in Camotes Island, was among the 500 beneficiaries of the Capitol’s caravan of services, also dubbed “Serbisyo Caravan.”

Garbe, along with other farmers, received water pipes from the provincial government during the third annual Serbisyo Caravan held at the Poro gymnasium yesterday.

“Dako among pasalamat kay naa mi gamit patubig,” said Garbe, president of Santa Cruz farmers association.

The association is producing vegetables, including ampalaya (bitter gourd), okra and sili. It supplies at least 50 kilos of sili a week to Carbon Public Market.

Capitol has likewise turned over P2.8 million worth of financial assistance to the island’s local government units.

The amount is broken down into P1.5 million, Poro town’s riprap and other infrastructure projects; P717,000, Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP)-small livelihood programs; P314,000, farm equipment and post-harvest machineries; P120,450, agri-planting materials; P195,194, fishing gear; P90,000, medical mission; and 10 units of wheelchairs at P5,000 each.

Governor Hilario Davide III and Vice Governor Agnes Magpale led the distribution of cash assistance, farming equipment and medicines, among others.

During the caravan, a PWD association in Barangay Esperanza in Poro asked for a financial assistance to fund its livelihood programs, such as poultry farming.

Leodegario Arcipe, the association's president, said the association only receives P350 a year based on the one percent share of senior citizens and PWDs from the barangay’s internal revenue allotment (IRA).

The association has 27 accredited members.

Arcipe said the meager amount is not enough for the organization to even start a livelihood program.

Esperanza Barangay Captain Dina Rama said her office is just waiting for the association to submit a resolution so she can endorse it to the Office of the Governor for approval.

Cebu province presents LGU blueprint for disaster management, climate change

(PNA), /EB/SSC

CEBU CITY (PNA) -- Cebu province’s 51 local government units (LGUs) will soon have their own disaster risk reduction management-climate change adaptation (DRR-CCA) plans before the end of this year, an official said.

DRR-CCA project consultant Aloysius Mariae Cañete said they already prepared the blueprint of the joint venture mainstreaming project for 51 LGUs in the province.

Cañete, of A2D Project, said that aside from the 51 LGUs, there will also be a plan for the Cebu provincial government during the seven-month project duration period.

Cañete said that every LGU will be involved in formulating its own disaster management plan.

DRR-CCA is a worldwide collaborative effort of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in reducing the vulnerability of communities and contributing to sustainable development.

Cañete said the project will be the first aligned and harmonized undertaking that is actually being done in the country, adding that they will use all available maps that are accessible and easy to understand.

Mae Elizabeth Ybañez, of Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI), said Cebu is the first province to have a GIS (geographic information system) supported raw database maps, currently with the Provincial Planning and Development Office through an Australian grant.

GIS is a computer system for capturing, storing, checking and displaying data related to positions on the earth surface.

But due to the large size of Cebu province, Canete said they will implement it through cluster approach, dividing the province into five clusters, namely north, mid-north, central, mid-south and south.

Each cluster has specified LGU venue for trainings like Bogo City, Tuburan, Mandaue City, Moalboal and Boljoon, he said.

Angela Tiangco, of Berkman International, said most of the other provinces simply integrated their DRRM plan with the comprehensive land use plan (CLUP) plan and tourism plan.

Walking, cycling lane pushed for Cebu’s mobility system

By Charles R. Pepito

THE transit-oriented development (TOD), as an alternative to motorized transport system, is being pushed as among the workable solutions to the growing population of Cebu’s metropolitan region.

In a planning workshop, Connective Cities Project, developed by the German Association of Cities and the National Economic and Development Authority, is eyeing the review of Cebu’s urban physical framework plan.

TOD is an integrated approach that includes regional spatial planning, city revitalization, nonmotorized means of transport and walkable neighborhoods.

Under this approach, commercial districts and other major destinations will have no private-vehicle parking areas, but only access to mass transport.

This will discourage private-car owners, as transferring people will be done through mass transport or by walking and cycling. Parking provisions in major destinations will also be removed.

By creating walkable communities, it reduces the need for transport and energy consumption and helps trim down the growing problem of climate change.

The common features of a TOD community include walkable districts (within 10-minute walk circles), bike networks and close proximity of offices, residence, retail and civic.

Colon Street in Cebu City, for example, will be strictly for pedestrians. All motorized transport will only be up to Fuente Osmeña Circle, MJ Cuenco and Panganiban Streets. These three transit-barrier roads going to Colon will be lined with trees, shades and parallel bicycle lanes.

Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III, who recently passed the province’s three-year comprehensive development plan, said the workshop would provide more inputs that would help Cebu’s development agenda.

Davide, who chairs the Metro Cebu Development and Coordinating Board, said the firsthand experience presented by German experts on approaches and proven solutions of TOD would greatly help local participants as they discuss issues in order to detect potential solutions.

“We would also have this opportunity to listen to successful stories and experiences from other countries so that we can make our province more inclusive and competitive,” Davide said.

Capitol earlier presented its three-year development plan that includes Greenway road to help decongest traffic in Metro Cebu.

The Greenway link project, composed mostly of barangay access roads, will supplement the trans-axial highway project, a 280- kilometer road that connects the northern and southern parts of Cebu.

Olango Wildlife Sanctuary to be boosted

By May B. Miasco (Freeman, The Philippine Star)

CEBU, Philippines - Key stakeholders of the Olango Island Wildlife Sanctuary in Lapu-Lapu City seek to boost the eco-tourism in the area and at the same time continue to monitor and protect this ecosystem by strengthening information and education efforts.

Luther Dejadena, the assistant protected area superintendent for the bird sanctuary, admitted that there is still a lack of sustainability and effectiveness of the existing information and education efforts to promote the protected area as major ecotourism destination.

He was present during yesterday’s field exposure visit organized by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-7 that seeks to monitor and evaluate the Gender and Development component of the sanctuary’s project.

Dejadena said they formulated the Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) plan that included the audio-visual presentations, video documentaries, tarpaulins, brochures and signages.

According to him, this sanctuary is an important wildlife area since its rich coastal wetlands served as an important staging, feeding, and wintering area and temporary shelter for both the migratory shore birds and resident wildlife species.

This is because, he explained, the Olango Island lies within the East-Asian Australasian Flyway – a route taken by migratory shorebirds to and from the breeding ground in Northern China, Japan, Alaska and Siberia.

However, this key biodiversity area is not spared from various challenges and threats, he admitted.

He said some concerns include the mangrove cutting for fuel wood; subsistence fishing and gleaning activities; poor solid waste management and waste disposal; and lastly, the increasing population that may lead to overuse of resources.

Dejadena said it is also at risk of habitat destruction due to wetland conversion; overexploitation and unsustainable utilization of resources; and pollution due to household waste, chemical waste, and factory discharge, among others.

Dejadena said that other major activity in the sanctuary, aside from conserving, protecting and monitoring its biodiversity, are eco-tourism activities like bird watching, swimming, camping and sightseeing, boat paddling, and a mangrove tour.

He added that the office is also eyeing to establish a center at the sanctuary where research and monitoring would be conducted and at the same time train wildlife enforcement officers.

DSWD-7 implements LINGAP SA MASA program

By Juju Empuerto (rmn/jsme/PIA7-Cebu/DSWD-7)

CEBU CITY (PIA) --- More indigent Filipinos can now avail of free medicines through the LibrengGamot Para sa Masa or LINGAP SA MASA, according to Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-7) Listahanan Information Officer Kerwin Macopia.

According to Macopia, the free medicine assistance program is funded under President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s Socio-Civic Projects Funds and to be implemented by DSWD in partnership with a selected regional hospital.

In Region 7, DSWD-7 inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) for the provision of free medicines to indigent patients in the Central Visayas region on February 9, 2017.

The signing of MOA coincide with DSWD's 66th anniversary celebration held in SM Seaside City Cebu.

“We will set up a desk in VSMCC so that it would be easy for the patients who will be needing prescription medicines to be immediately assessed by our assigned social worker,” said DSWD-7 Regional Director Ma. Evelyn Macapobre.

“A guarantee letter will be issued by DSWD for the purchase of medicines from hospital pharmacies or from partner drug stores,” Macapobre added.

Macapobre clarified that this medicine program is distinct and separate from the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS).

Target beneficiaries of this program are the following:

1. Families or individuals who are indigent, vulnerable or disadvantaged;

2. Those in the informal sector and poor based on the DSWD Listahanan;

3. Those who are in crisis situations based on assessment of social workers;

4. Government employees and contract of service workers working in the government; and

5. Beneficiaries of soldiers and police who were killed or wounded in the line of duty.

The “Lingap sa Masa” medicine assistance program is in response to President Duterte’s directive to give indigent Filipinos access to free medicines to help them recover from their illnesses.

Requirements to avail these free medicines are:

1. Any valid ID of the patient;

2. Valid ID of the representative and a written authorization signed by the patient;

3. Doctor’s prescription issued not later than three (3) months; and

4. Proof of indigency from the Barangay or Certification issued by the medical social service of an identified hospital.

The program is initially implemented in other four regions, namely NCR, Regions 3, 6, and 11.

Once it expands, DSWD plans to make the assistance available to all regions.

Cash incentive sought for Cebuana PMA grad

By Kristine B. Quintas (The Freeman)

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Provincial Board has commended 25-year-old Meriam Libongcogon from Balamban town for graduating from the Philippine Military Academy and for pursuing her dreams despite financial hardships.

The PB has also asked Governor Hilario Davide III to grant P100,000 in financial assistance to Libongcogon and her family.

After passing the exam and hurdling the rigorous training at the academy, it is just fitting to grant Libongcogon and her family cash assistance for bringing pride to Cebu province, a PB resolution penned by Board Member Alex Binghay said.

“The financial assistance will signify the provincial government’s support and gratitude to Libongcogon and her family,” the resolution reads.

Libongcogon belongs to PMA Sanggalang ay Lakas at Buhay na Alay Para sa Kalayaan ng Inang Bayan (SALAKNIB) Class of 2017 with a rank of junior commissioned officer, an ensign in the Philippine Navy.

Binghay said Libongcogon’s determination and exemplary achievements in the academy are worth emulating.

“As Cebuanos, we are proud of her recent remarkable achievements,” he said.

“Her story, a picture of success and inspiration, proves and teaches us that poverty and adversities in life are not a hindrance but rather keys to success and realization of one’s dreams. Of course, along with constant prayers and exerting efforts as well,” he added.

Libongcogon is the second child of Mario Libongcogon, a farmer and carpenter, and Florida, a housewife.

Coming from a poor family, she earlier shared that they sometimes settled for a meal of bananas or sweet potatoes to fill their empty stomachs.

At the age of six, Meriam and her other siblings had to break their backs to help her parents sustain the family’s daily needs and necessities.

At nine, she started collecting and selling coconut shells, wood, and sand, as construction supplies to workers, as well as fetched water for them, earning at least P20 a week which she saved and spent to sew her and her siblings’ clothes.

Despite working at a young age to help her parents, Meriam still managed to finish as valedictorian in her elementary school.

At the age of 15, she finished high school as a full scholar in a Catholic school in Cebu City.

She then took a job to become a housemaid in Cebu, hoping that she could juggle work and college education. But taking care of her bosses' children took so much of her time. It didn't work out.

She took computer engineering, but failed to finish her degree.

Luckily, she met a PMA instructor visiting Cebu who encouraged her to take the exam in 2012. She worked as housemaid for the PMA instructor in Baguio City while waiting for the results of the entrance exams. When she made the cut, her life changed forever.

The hardships she experienced before enrolling in PMA gave her the strength of mind and body to finish her studies at the academy.

Resort to open shopping arcade

By Katlene O. Cacho

By April this year, Plantation Bay Resort and Spa is set to open its new offering to the tourism market—its high-end shopping arcade that is meant to boost the guest experience.

“Construction is already 80 to 90 percent (complete). We target to open in the middle of April this year,” said Plantation Bay Resort and Spa general manager Efren Belarmino, in an interview yesterday.

Construction of the shopping arcade began sometime last year. The resort also recently completed room renovations.

The two-level, 125-square-meter shopping arcade will be occupied by a tenants selling high-end souvenir items. The resort will also have its own space to sell its own products. Belarmino disclosed that they are still in negotiations with another tenant in the jewelry business.

The shopping arcade is located inside the resort’s 11.5-hectare property in Barangay Marigondon, Lapu-Lapu City. Belarmino said the retail outlet is aimed at enhancing the guest experience and boosting the tourism offering for local and foreign guests.

Variety

Shopping, he said, is one of the top activities of tourists, specifically the growing number of Taiwanese visitors.

“Foreign tourists don’t only come to Cebu for leisure activities. They are also inclined toward shopping activities. Mactan Island, however, doesn’t have luxury shopping centers and guests may need to go to Cebu City, where there is a high presence of bigger shopping malls,” said Belarmino.

Moreover, the general manager reported a healthy occupancy level since the start of this year. This observation, he noted, is also being felt by all resort players in Mactan Island.

Belarmino expects more tourists to visit Cebu with the additional direct flights launched since last year.

He hopes these new direct flights would translate to high revenues in rooms, food and beverage, retail and other leisure activities. “These direct flights are helping us,” he said.

Data from the tourism department showed that tourism receipts in the country generated earnings amounting to P21.7 billion in January this year.

Korea is the top spending market, with receipts amounting to P6.5 billion followed by US with total visitor spending of P3.69 billion. Japan landed in the third spot with P2.12 billion expenditure, followed by Australia at P1.59 billion and Canada at P1.09 billion.

More sign up for Kapatid Mentoring

By Katlene O. Cacho

AFTER producing 26 graduates of the Kapatid Mentor Me Program (KMM) last year, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Cebu is attempting to graduate 33 new mentees this year.

“This is beyond what is ideal, but the interest (among MSME players to join) is high,” said Virgilio Espeleta, the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (CCCI) vice president for business development and management services division, in an interview.

He noted that the successful turnout of the first batch, as well as word of mouth, has encouraged more MSMES in the province to participate in the program. There are already a number of mentees awaiting the next batches, he said.

The KMM Project is a collaboration of the Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship (PCE)/Go Negosyo, DTI, and CCCI.

The program aims to help MSMEs scale up their businesses through weekly coaching (for 12 weeks) and mentoring by business owners and practitioners on the different functional areas of entrepreneurship.

The modules will covers topics on basic entrepreneurship such as entrepreneurial mind-setting and values foundation, and marketing and advanced business modules such as operations management, supply and value chain, human resource management, financial management, taxation, and business law.

Learning from the turnout of the previous batch, Espeleta said they have made improvements in the module such as setting up a separate session on crafting a business model canvass, as well as a separate module for working with other government agencies that can help mentees grow, and the organization of an expo on June 3 to expose the mentees’ products.

DTI Cebu Provincial Director Ma. Elena Arbon said she was pleased with the success of the KMM program, adding that its participants are now more comfortable with reaching out to the government.

During the launching of the KMM Batch 2, the organizers invited successful homegrown entrepreneurs to inspire the mentees. They included Rey Calooy, founder and general manager of RNC Marketing Philippines Inc.; exporter Ramir Bonghanoy, president of Bon-Ace Fashion Tools, Inc.; Leonora Salvane, vice president and chief operating officer of GT Cosmetics Manufacturing; Bunny Pages, chairman and CEO of Pages Holdings Inc.; and Mario Panganiban, general manager of Cebu Advent Development Corp.

SM Foundation sets medical, dental missions

(Sun.Star Cebu)

SM FOUNDATION Inc. will hold a medical and dental mission on March 21 and 22 in SM Seaside City Cebu in Cebu City, and on March 23 in SM City Consolacion, Consolacion town, Cebu.

In cooperation with the Department of Social Welfare and Services of Cebu City, Philippine Red Cross and Cebu Medical Society, the medical and dental mission in SM Seaside City Cebu targets 2,000 patients, including senior citizens.

It will be held at the Seaview Wing enclosed area at the first level from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. On March 23, the medical team of SM Foundation will proceed to the mezzanine parking of SM City Consolacion to serve 1,000 patients.

SM Foundation will offer free services like chest X-ray, ECG, random blood sugar, blood pressure monitoring and free medicines in response to the need of indigent families to be provided with complete health care.

Since 2001, SM Foundation has brought these services to marginalized communities through its medical missions and its Felicidad T. Sy Wellness Program.

Over the years, the program has been conducted in SM Supermalls, SM Savemores, SM Hypermarkets, Felicidad T. Sy Wellness Centers and other institutions and communities.

PWDs to show force in Cebu dragon boat race

By Rabboni Centino Borbon

Paddlers from the Philippine Accessibility Disability Services Inc. (PADS) will compete in the upcoming Cebu Dragon Boat Fiesta 2017 on April 28 to 30 at the Cebu Yacht Club in Lapu-Lapu City.

More than 40 teams are expected in the race, including PADS which will vie in the 500-meter open race.

“We are very thankful because they saw that paddling can still be adapted to us PWDs,” PADS team captain Arnold Balais said during the event’s press conference yesterday at the Active Zone in Ayala Center Cebu. “Many see that PWDs have potential in the sport of dragon boat.”

PADS, which has around 20 members are also preparing for a dragon boat race in Hong Kong in June and are looking to recruit more to join their team. They have members who are blind, deaf mute and have orthopedic handicaps.

Balais, who uses one artificial leg, said that being on a boat brings a different kind of excitement- not just to him but also to his teammates.

“We forget our disability when we are on the boat,” said Balais, “We paddle until we go crazy,” Biggest race in Vis-Min

“We have local teams in Cebu, visitors from Manila, and other parts of Visayas and Mindanao. If all the teams will be there on race day, we can beat the 33 teams that competed in Palawan,” said Nonnie Lopez, the event’s head organizer.

Lopez said that nine teams from Mindanao will compete while eight to nine squads from Visayas are already close to confirmation. Teams from the USA, Canada, Hong Kong, and Nigeria will also join the three-day race.

Meanwhile, Cebu Provincial Board Member and Cebu Provincial Sports Commission’s Tining Martinez expressed happiness over the sport’s steady growth in Cebu.

“It’s good to see that there are a lot of local teams now. When we started, there were only two teams, now there are 10 or 11,” Martinez said . Gruppo Habagat, Cebu Fire Blades, and Kugtong EXR are among the Cebu-based teams vying in the meet.

Foundation teaches 117 PWDs how to earn more

By Katlene O. Cacho

AFTER empowering 117 persons with disabilities (PWD) in Metro Manila, Maybank Foundation has extended its Reach Independence and Sustainable Entrepreneurship (RISE) program in Metro Cebu, targeting 200 PWD beneficiaries.

Maybank Foundation is pouring in an initial P6 million to roll out the RISE program in the country, as part of the Malaysian bank’s corporate social responsibility program.

Last Friday, around 50 PWDs in Mandaue City joined a three-day entrepreneurship and financial training session in the Dohera Hotel. The initial participants will be assisted during a six-month mentoring period, where they will be trained by Maybank employees to achieve higher income levels and improve their standard of living.

The Philippines is the third country-recipient of the RISE program pilot-tested two years ago in Malaysia. The program, designed to create economic independence and financial inclusion, was also brought to Indonesia.

“We have created this program to make a difference. We wanted to develop economic empowerment, economic independence, and financial inclusion among all segments of the community, including the PWD and marginalized, for them to be given equal opportunities and better chances in life,” said Pollie Sim, chief executive officer (CEO) of Maybank International, in a press conference.

Sim added that this is also the bank’s contribution in addressing the financial inclusion gaps in Southeast Asia, especially among PWDs and the poor.

Maybank Foundation targets to empower 1,200 PWDS in the Philippines.

Initial participants in Metro Manila showed good progress, according to Maybank Foundation CEO Shahril Azuar Jimin. Three batches of trainings were already completed in the cities of Makati, Las Piñas and San Juan.

“In just two months, 40 percent of the two batches in Manila resulted in a 192 percent increase in average income, the fastest growth recorded regionally,” said Jimin. He expected to see similar results in Cebu.

After Mandaue, two more training sessions will be conducted in the coming weeks, in Cebu City and in Talisay City. RISE in the Philippines is being implemented through Maybank Foundation’s partner organizations: People Systems Consultancy and the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Cebu province to hire more doctors for its 16 hospitals

(PNA), LAP/BS/EB

CEBU CITY, March 13 (PNA) -- The Cebu provincial government will hire more doctors to man the 16 provincial and district hospitals run by the provincial government, a local legislator said in a statement Monday.

Cebu provincial board member Christopher Baricuatro said these new doctors will be placed in “on-call” status to provide additional workforce in all provincial and district hospitals.

Baricuatro said the Cebu provincial board has passed his resolution authorizing the governor to hire on-call physicians to augment the medical manpower of the 16 province-run hospitals.

The Cebu provincial government operates 12 district hospitals and four Level 1 medical facilities.

Baricuatro said the measure will allow doctors to provide health care services to these government-owned hospitals once they are hired as contractuals or non-exclusive basis.

“There is a need for the services of qualified, licensed and competent medical practitioners to handle the requirements for on-call special care in hospitals,” he said.

Dr. Rene Catan, Cebu Provincial Health Office (CPHO) chief, said they are already inviting doctors and medical technicians to work for the provincial hospital.

He said they are exerting efforts to entice recruits through a higher pay scale “as compared to their counterparts in the private sector.”

The hiring of personnel is in preparation for the upgrading of four provincial hospitals in the cities of Bogo, Danao and Carcar and in the town of Balamban to Level II, Catan said.

Catan said health is the top priority of Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III’s six-key development agenda.

"The move to boost the manpower of provincial hospitals is part of capitol’s continuous effort to deliver quality healthcare services to its constituents,” Catan said.

He said the provincial hospitals have also started installing new laboratory equipment to provide free clinical examinations to PhilHealth card holders.

These laboratory equipment are expected to become operational this month, he said.

DENR forges 25-year deal with orgs for agro-forestry program

By May B. Miasco (MBM/GAN, The Freeman)

CEBU, Philippines - More than 50 people’s organizations in Cebu province are now placed in the frontline in the implementation of the government’s enhanced Natural Greening Program (NGP) that has evolved into an agro-forestry from being a mere forest rehabilitation program.

Jose Cleo Cary Colis, the officer-in-charge of the Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) in Cebu, said these registered organizations had forged a 25-year agreement with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for them to manage their respective forest and timber lands.

Colis said that among the salient points cited in the contract is for the organizations to work together to guard and protect their lands and to conserve its natural assets or rehabilitate them, if needed.

Significantly, the members are allowed to utilize wisely the forest products within their area, but this is subject to the supervision and approval of DENR.

“They are given the privilege to manage and harvest the trees that they have planted but has to ask permit from DENR before they would proceed to any activity,” he said in a radio-live forum dubbed “Kapihan sa PIA” this week.

Colis said that since the enhanced program has just been introduced in the province this year, their office seeks to create a “social entrepreneurship mindset” that would provide opportunities for people for commercial enterprise so that they can also learn to preserve and appreciate their own resources.

He explained that the government has shifted in dealing with agro-forestry into something that would address the livelihood needs of locals and at the same time make them partners in preserving their natural assets.

NGP used to be just a massive reforestation project of DENR.

One of the successful community-based projects established from the old NGP was the coffee plantations in Tuburan, Cebu that still thrives and continues to boost their produce up to this date.

This time, PENRO is eyeing at bamboo as a priority commodity because it is among the fast-growing plants, has high value for mitigating climate change and it can also be processed into various furniture products.

When bamboo is harvested, it will grow a new shoot from its extensive root with no need for additional planting or cultivation.

The national government earmarked around P50 million this year for Cebu province to sustain the newly-developed program.

Since the enhanced scheme has just been implemented this year, one of the hindrances they met is the absence of established people’s organizations in some localities, which prompted Colis to urge every barangay to organize its own group for them to benefit from the program.

Central Visayas seen as an agro-processing hub

By Jeandie O. Galolo

AMID modern infrastructure projects in the region, the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) 7 chief promises to continue to support the agriculture sector.

One of the ways, said Efren Carreon, is to position Central Visayas as one of the country’s agro-processing hubs.

“We are not leaving agriculture and fisheries behind since these are very important sectors. There are a lot of challenges…We have limited agricultural land, we are an island economy. We have no plantation agriculture here like in Mindanao. We are at a little disadvantage,” said Carreon during a regional economic overview presented before members of the Life Underwriters Association of the Philippines (LUAP) Cebu on Tuesday.

The region’s economy is mostly concentrated in industry and services, covering 36.9 percent and 57.2 percent, respectively, while agriculture contributed a meager 5.9 percent to the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) in 2015.

According to the local economic chief, poverty incidence in the region is highest in the agri-fishery sector. Leaving them behind, in the face of the rise of industries and services, will leave the poverty incidence rate higher.

The strategy, he said, is to become an agro-processing hub in the Visayas by sourcing affordable raw materials from Mindanao. Agro-processing is a subsector of manufacturing that processes raw materials derived from agriculture, forestry and fisheries.

Cebu, for instance, is a big producer of dried mangoes for domestic and export use.

At this point, Carreon said Metro Cebu is sourcing most of the vegetables from Bukidnon through the Cagayan de Oro port, since it is cheaper to source vegetables from Mindanao that from Eastern Visayas.

The plan of developing more economic zones in Cebu can be a means to strengthen the agro-processing industry in the region.

Special economic zones are areas within the country that follow different business and trade laws where companies located within the zone are offered tax holidays and incentives to encourage investments and job creation.

Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza) Director General Charito Plaza earlier expressed support for the refiling of House Bill 1319 that would transform Cebu Province into an economic zone.

More flights out of Cebu

By Jeandie O. Galolo

LOW-COST carrier AirAsia Inc. has committed to add more domestic flights to various Philippine destinations moving forward, said a company official.

The announcement came on Monday as AirAsia launched its three new domestic flights from Cebu to Davao, Palawan, and Boracay via Caticlan.

“With our newest routes, AirAsia would like to provide the much-needed connections and tap into the underserved markets, grow it, as there are definitely great tourism and business potentials in the Visayas and Mindanao,” said AirAsia captain and chief executive officer (CEO) Dexter Comendador.

One possible route the company is eyeing is Cebu-Cagayan de Oro.

Starting April 22, AirAsia will fly from Cebu to Boracay and Palawan daily while flights to Davao are scheduled twice daily.

AirAsia used to offer the Cebu-Davao flight in previous years but this was stopped due to “finacial difficulties” of maintaining the flight. At that time, Comendador said the focus was in Manila.

Now that it has resumed, the official expressed confidence in the Cebu-Davao flight, among its other domestic connections.

“We will continue to expand. We cannot rely on Manila anymore to park our planes. It’s too crowded. We are here to expand outside Manila,” he added.

AirAsia is also slated to double its fleet, now 14, in the next five years.

Meanwhile, to support an increase in connectivity to and from Cebu, Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 Director Catalino Chan III said there will be a familiarization tour to Puerto Princesa, a joint project of AirAsia and DOT-Central Visayas, where it will bring tour operators to the island.

GMR-Megawide airline marketing head Aines Librodo said the company, which is operating the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA), is not only promoting Cebu as the final destination, but as an alternative gateway to central and southern Philippines.

At present, Cebu is connected to 27 domestic destinations and 14 international destinations, said Librodo.

Philippines AirAsia is a joint venture company between Filipino investors Antonio Cojuanco, former ambassador Alfredo Yao, Michael Romero, Marianne Hontiveros and Malaysia’s AirAsia Berhad. It operates domestic and international flights out of Manila, Cebu and Kalibo.

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on March 08, 2017.

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Central Visayas welcomes 4.9M

By Jeandie O. Galolo and Mia A. Aznar

CENTRAL Visayas welcomed close to five million tourists in the first 11 months of 2016, data from the Department of Tourism (DOT) 7 showed.

This translates to a 16.39 percent growth rate from 2015 tourist arrivals of 4.292 million compared to 4.996 million in 2016.

Cebu continues to account for the largest chunk of tourists, reaching 3.46 million from January to November 2016, followed by Bohol (820,000), Negros Oriental (632,000), and Siquijor (78,788).

Overall, domestic tourists reached 2.9 million while there were two million foreign tourists who visited Central Visayas during the period.

While visitors from Korea consistently make up the majority of foreign tourists to the region, the highest growth was from China, seeing a 72.89 percent increase in arrivals. Chinese tourists rank third among foreign visitors to Central Visayas, making up at 12.01 percent share.

Koreans, who make up 43.29 percent of the region’s foreign visitors, grew 11.84 percent.

Declines

The region, however, saw a decline of 12.10 percent from Canadian tourists, who are ranked 10th among foreign arrivals. Visitors from Germany and the United Kingdom also declined.

Tourists from Southeast Asia grew slightly by 1.91 percent, from 46,957 in 2016 to 46,077 in 2015. The two biggest ASEAN groups that visited the region were from Singapore and Thailand.

For the whole year of 2016, DOT has a target of 5.8 million tourists. The actual figures for the entire 2016 is yet to be released, said DOT 7 Director Catalino Chan III.

This year, the Philippines targets 6.5 million foreign tourists and another 73.3 million domestic travelers.

For returning overseas Filipinos, the DOT 7 saw a decline of 32.16 percent. From 13,491 returning Filipinos in 2015, only 9,152 visited the region last year.

Regions

Travelers from the Middle East saw a 13.33 percent rise, with most of them coming from Saudi Arabia.

Visitors from South America grew 44.91 percent, with most of the tourists coming from Brazil.

The department saw an increase of 5.62 percent in arrivals from Western Europe, a slight decline of 0.45 percent from Northern Europe, A 34.25 percent rise from Southern Europe and a decline of 2.01 percent from Eastern Europe.

There was a 4.46 percent rise in visitors from Africa.

Cebu Celebrates Women’s Month

By Francis Nacua

Staunch advocates for women’s rights and empowerment in Cebu and other parts of Visayas paraded to Cebu Provincial Capitol Wednesday, March 1 marking the Women’s Month Celebration with a theme “Make change work for women”.

“Karong adlawa napamatuod na layo kita’g naabtan ning atong pakigbisog alang sa kalambuan sa kababainan dili lang sa Sugbo kundi pud sa nasod,” said Governor Hilario Davide III as he led the welcoming of the participants of the event.

Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) chose Cebu to kick-off the month-long celebration part of the worldwide observance of the International Women’s Day in the month of March.

Dr. Rhodora M. Bucoy, chairperson of PCW, expressed her happiness as she was back at the Provincial Capitol which she said gave birth to a lot of activities for women in Cebu province and city.

Bucoy accentuated the event on empowering women and discussing their vital role in changing not just the nation but the whole world in any fields and events.

“Every woman has innate potentials that can only be unleashed if she embraces her own empowerment to make positive changes,” she said.

Davide applauded the Filipino women in this modern world as trend setters, effective leader and powerful nation builders unafraid to empower, cultivate and reshape possible change.

“Women inspired men to become women,” he added.

Bucoy supported Davide’s statement as she said men can become women imbued with qualities of compassion, care, concern and love for freedom and dignity.

Vice Governor Agnes A. Magpale, an active advocate for women and children, presented in her speech the changes Province of Cebu made for women since 1993.

She said that the Sanguniang Panlalawigan prior to that time did not have a Committee on Women until she brought it up which started through advocacy programs.

Magpale discussed how the Provincial Women’s Commission came into being and how it developed and shaped the lives of lots of women in the province.

The event focused on empowering women through inspiring women’s shared stories and experience in dealing and improving their lives as well as others’ lives.

Smart tests show faster LTE speeds in Metro Cebu

By JAMES KONSTANTIN GALVEZ (TMT)

SMART Communications, Inc. (Smart), the mobile unit of PLDT Inc., said recent field tests in Metro Cebu are show-ing “impressive” LTE and 3G speeds in the Visayas region’s premier urban hub with the company’s nationwide network modernization program now in full swing.

Internal field tests conducted in key areas in and around Metro Cebu have shown that download speeds on Smart’s LTE service have jumped at least 146 percent to 19.7 Mbps and have reached up to 52 Mbps in certain are-as like Cordova, while upload speeds have also risen by 134 percent to 14.3 Mbps.

Download speeds on Smart’s 3G service, on the other hand, went up 275 percent to 6 Mbps, while upload speeds improved 45 percent to 1.6 Mbps, it said.

LTE speeds exceeding 20 Mbps have been recorded in both indoor and outdoor areas around Metro Cebu, Smart said. LTE speeds of more than 24 Mbps were recorded at SM Seaside Mountain Wing and Banilad Road in Cebu City, while speeds in excess of 37 Mbps were reached in Jollibee Minglanilla.

LTE speeds above 21 Mbps were also posted in tourist-favorite Lantaw Native Restaurant in Mactan and at the Mactan International Airport, while LTE reached speeds of 47 Mbps were recorded in Brgy. Tingub in Mandaue City.

On the other hand, speeds in excess of 90 Mbps have reportedly been achieved in and around the Minglanilla Sports Complex, using carrier aggregation (CA) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A)-capable handsets.

Carrier aggregation refers to the capability of LTE-A to combine two or more radio frequency bands in order to de-liver bigger bandwidth and much faster data speeds to mobile users.

“We are accelerating the rollout of LTE because it provides an immediate significant boost to the speed, quality and reliability of our service. Moreover, it lays the foundation for the rollout of LTE-A with CA and puts us in a position to further improve internet service as more handsets capable of CA become available in the market,” said Joachim Horn, chief technology and information advisor for PLDT and Smart.

“These are just initial results, and we are already nearing the midpoint of our implementation in Metro Cebu,” Horn added.

“We are asking for people’s patience and understanding as we make changes in our network facilities. These activi-ties are being done during the most inactive hours of the day, and we are putting systems in place to minimize the impact on our subscribers,” he said.

The company said the improvements in LTE speeds were brought about by an increase in 3G and LTE base stations in Metro Cebu, which are up by 16 percent and 108 percent, respectively. As a result, data volume traffic on 3G and LTE has also increased, according to network monitoring data.

Metro Cebu is home to more than 2.8 million Filipinos, while passenger arrivals at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport hit nearly 9 million last year. It is also the country’s largest outsourcing destination outside of Metro Manila.

Smart has completed its network overhaul program in Boracay and Metro Davao, while a major leg of this network expansion is underway in and around Metro Manila. In nearby Rizal, Smart’s average LTE download speeds jumped 455 percent to 23.3 Mbps and average 3G download speeds rose by 37 percent to 3.7 Mbps due to significant in-creases in the number of LTE and 3G base stations in the province.

LTE delivers superior experience for users, particularly for data. It can also be quickly upgraded to LTE-A, which can provide even faster speeds and greater capacity to subscribers who are using LTE SIMs on LTE-capable handsets.

Smart began rolling out its LTE-A service in April 2016. Initially rolled out in Boracay, Smart’s LTE-A service delivers peak speeds of more than 100 Mbps to users with LTE-A capable smartphones.

Smart’s network rollout took a big bulk of parent company PLDT’s capital expenditure program of $1 billion for 2016, with an additional $100 million allocated to utilize the new frequencies freed up with the acquisition of San Miguel Corporation’s telco assets.

In its three-year network rollout plan submitted to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in July last year, Smart said it is focused on accelerating its LTE deployment to make it progressively available to users in 1,551 cities and municipalities across the country by end-2018.

CPPO to begin preparations for Holy Week

By Rowena D. Capistrano (RDC/JBB , The Freeman)

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu Provincial Police Office Director Senior Superintendent Eric Noble will meet his men next week to discuss preparations for the coming Holy Week.

Noble said they are set to meet next week after the conclusion of major events, especially the arrival of President Rodrigo Duterte last Thursday wherein many of his men were deployed to the field.

"Mana man ang pagbisita sa presidente, isunod na usab nato ang preparasyon sa Semana Santa," said Noble.

Noble said, they will monitor all the places in the Province of Cebu, especially those with expected high volume of tourists such as Bantayan Island. Close Ad X

Noble said he is hoping that he can visit all the places before the start of Holy Week on April 9 Palm Sunday.

Noble informed The FREEMAN that normal police duties and functions will remain, and that they will follow the protocols practiced during All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day and during the holiday season. Freeman ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch:

"Atong gamiton ang security operations nato sa nanglabay nga mga dagkong kalihukan," said Noble.

MPIC eyes Cebu train

By Jeandie O. Galolo

AFTER Cebu-Cordova Link Expressway, Metro Pacific Investments Corp. is also keen on expanding its transportation business in Cebu with the proposed Cebu Light Rail Transit.

“We’re closely monitoring (the project) because we have transport infrastructure as one of our strengths. Cebu needs mass transportation and we’d like to participate also here,” said Metro Pacific Tollways Development Corp. (MPTDC) president Rodrigo Franco, in an interview at the sidelines of the press conference for CCLEX on Thursday.

Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino said the mass transit, spanning 70 kilometers, is estimated to cost $30 million per kilometer for the elevated railway type, based on the estimates of Singaporean experts who are conducting the feasibility study.

Dino, in August last year, said the government is looking for private investors to fund the project. He said the project can be implemented through a public-private partnership (PPP).

Franco described Cebu as a key investment destination of the company, having embarked on the P27-billion CCLEX, its first infrastructure project outside Luzon.

While the bridge is targeted for completion by 2020, the MPTDC official said there are plans to connect the road network to the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA).

At present, CCLEX connects only the Dapitan-Pilipog area in Cordova and the South Road Properties (SRP) in Cebu City.

“We’re not yet currently connected to the airport. That’s something we want to study,” Franco said.

Cebu-Bohol bridge

The Cebu-Bohol Friendship Bridge, he said, is also one business opportunity in the Visayas that the Pangilinan-led company wants to look into.

“It requires thorough technical study. The technical challenges are going to be higher. Once we study it and find that it is viable, we would like to participate in the project,” he added.

MPIC chairman Manny V. Pangilinan, during the CCLEX groundbreaking ceremony in Cordova on Thursday, expressed interest in the Cebu-Bohol bridge. He also shared his vision of connecting Western, Central, and Eastern Visayas to build a “one big economic region”.

MPIC, through the Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), has a concession agreement with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for the P65-billion LRT 1 Cavite Extension, Operation and Maintenance Project.

LRMC is a joint venture company of Metro Pacific Light Rail Corp. (MPLRC), Ayala Corp.’s AC Infrastructure Holdings Corp. (AC Infra), and the Philippine Investment Alliance for Infrastructure’s Macquarie Infrastructure Holdings (Philippines) PTE Ltd. (MIHPL).

Cebu to host PBA All-Star Games on April 30

(PNA), FPV/EB/MP/EBP

CEBU CITY (PNA) -- Cebuanos and other Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players from the Visayas will be playing alongside each other to give entertainment to basketball fans on April 30 at the Lapu-Lapu City Hoops Dome.

Cebu is one of the places named by the PBA to host the three All-Star Games against the Gilas Pilipinas 5.0, along with Lucena City and Cagayan de Oro City.

This will be the time when Cebuano giants – three-time MVP June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel Beermen and Joseph Ronald Quiñahan of GlobalPort Batang Pier – will team up to help the Visayas team get past the Gilas 5.0, who will parade its pool members who are not from the Visayas.

Aside from Fajardo and Quiñahan, GlobalPort’s sparkplug Terrence Romeo, whose father is from Boljoon, Cebu, is scheduled to play for the Visayas All-Stars team.

Also in the Visayas All-Stars team are Dondon Hontiveros of Alaska Aces, Ronald Tubid of San Miguel who is from Iloilo, Jeff Chan and James Yap both of Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, who are from Bacolod City and Escalante City, respectively.

The PBA All-Stars vs. Gilas Pilipinas will start on April 26 with the Mindanao-based players seeing action against the national squad in Cagayan de Oro City.

The Luzon All-Stars will have their turn on April 26 in Lucena City, where the other All-Star events that include the 3-point shootout, slam dunk contest and blitz game will be held.

ASEAN-PCOO Roadshow rolls off to Cebu on March 3

By Carmel Loise Matus (CLM /PIA7)

CEBU CITY (PIA) -- Secretary Martin M. Andanar of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) is set to lead the ASEAN - PCOO Roadshow which will be held in Cebu on Friday, March 3.

The Cebu event which comes after the Roadshows at Davao City, Zamboanga City and Baguio City, is part of the PCOO’s nationwide information, education, and communication campaign on the country’s chairmanship of the 2017 ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nation).

An official from the Department of Foreign Affairs will discuss the country’s chairmanship of ASEAN 2017.

Topics to be discussed include PCOO programs like the Freedom of Information, Creation of the Presidential Task Force on Violations of the Right to Life, Liberty and Security of the Members, and Use of New Media Communications for Participatory Governance.

PIA Director General Harold Clavite will open the program while Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III is set to welcome the participants. Secretary Andanar will be the keynote speaker for the event.

Expected to attend the Roadshow are 1000 participants composed of information officers from regional line agencies and local government units, barangay officials, bloggers, representatives from the business community and the private sector, media, and some local chief executives.

Also invited to attend are Communication students from eight schools and universities in Cebu, the University of the Philippines Cebu, Saint Theresa’s College-Cebu, University of San Jose Recoletos, Cebu Normal University, University of San Carlos, Benedicto College, Cebu Technical University and the Cebu Institute of Technology University.

Also scheduled are two Focused Group Discussions which will be held right after the main program. A Kapihan sa PIA media forum has also been scheduled.

Moreover, Secretary Andanar together with PIA DG Clavite and PIA Deputy Director General Angelo Villar will also lead the launching of the PIA Information Kiosk at the Mactan Cebu International Airport at 2:00 o’clock in the afternoon of the same day.

PIA Information Kiosks are set to be mounted in the different airports and malls all over the country in order to provide easy access to information about ASEAN and the Philippines, to the public and as well as to the arriving ASEAN delegates.

There are two scheduled ASEAN sub-meetings in April, one at Lapu-Lapu City and another one in Bohol province.

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