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==QC Mayor vows to continue Quezon’s housing program for poor==
*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=49970
*Saturday, August 20, 2011
:(QC-PAISO/PIA-NCR/RJB/JEG)
QUEZON CITY, August 20 (PIA) -- As Quezon City yesterday led the nation in honoring the city’s founding father, President Manuel L. Quezon, Mayor Herbert Bautista formally launched a pro-poor housing program inspired by Quezon’s social justice advocacy.
At the Quezon Memorial Shrine, Bautista vowed to continue the former president’s dream of providing decent shelter for the poor.
Mayor Bautista, who paid tribute to Quezon in commemoration of the 133rd birth anniversary of the First Philippine Commonwealth President said, that in building homes for the poor in our own time, “I want his memory to be there.”
Noted historian and president of the Philippine National Historical Society Professor Bernardita Reyes Churchill also reminded government officials of the former president’s advice - “we may not go down in history as statesmen, but let us win the title of friends of the poor, the highest title which a Christian man can aspire.”
Churchill cited how President Quezon as a true statesman, was focused on governance and not on politics.
The late president’s grandchild, Emil Avanceña and son Jose representing Nini Quezon Avanceña, the only surviving member of Quezon’s family, were also present during the occasion.
After the commemorative program, Bautista then proceeded to Barangay Payatas to officiate the groundbreaking and time capsule laying ceremonies for the Bistekville 1 housing project.
According to the city government, Bistekville 1 will rise at a 1.5 hectare site in Payatas. It is also the first of two resettlement communities that the city government will build starting this year.
The other project, Bistekville 2 will soon rise at a 4.4 hectare site in Barangay Kaligayahan.
Meanwhile, the Habitat for Humanity will build the first project wherein almost 400 units are to be awarded to public school teachers and informal settler families. The new homes are payable through the Pag-Ibig Fund for a 30-year period. The BPI Foundation is also assisting in the project.
During the groundbreaking ceremony, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa announced that President Benigno Aquino III has a P10 billion housing assistance program that will benefit all local government units with informal settler communities.
Sec. Ochoa said that Quezon City, being the LGU with the largest informal settler population, may likely receive a big share of the assistance fund.
==133rd Quezon birthday recalled today==
*Source: http://www.malaya.com.ph/aug19/news4.html
*Friday, August 19, 2011
:by Angela Lopez de Leon and Ashzel Hachero
IT will be special non-working holiday today in Quezon City and the provinces of Quezon and Aurora in commemoration of the 133rd birth anniversary of Manuel Luis Quezon, the first president of the Philippine Commonwealth (1935-1944) and "Father of the National Language."
Quezon was the first Senate president elected to the presidency and the first president elected through a national election.
When Quezon was inaugurated as Commonwealth president in 1935, he became the first Filipino to head a government of the Philippines.
The Commonwealth had a strong executive and a Supreme Court. The legislature, dominated by the Nacionalista Party, was at first unicameral, but later became bicameral.
In 1937, the government proclaimed a national language based mostly on Tagalog.
The Commonwealth government was in exile from 1942–1945, when the Philippines was under Japanese occupation.
Quezon died of tuberculosis in Saranac Lake, New York on Aug. 1, 1944.
City government officials led by Mayor Herbert Bautista and Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte will be joined by officials of the National Historical Institute in the wreath-laying at Quezon’s tomb at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Elliptical Road at 8 a.m.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority also announced the lifting of the number-coding scheme in Quezon City.
==QC Day celebrated with groundbreaking of housing projects for the poor ==
*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=49562
*Thursday, August 18, 2011
:By NORBY BAUTISTA
QUEZON CITY, August 18 (PIA) -- This year will see the rising of housing units for the needy. Government housing agencies and local government units (LGUs) are filling the backlogs that had piled through the years. The government of Quezon City is one.
As part of the celebration of Quezon City Day, the Quezon City government will hold the groundbreaking of two major housing projects for the city's homeless poor on Friday, August 19.
Part of the commemoration of Quezon City Day, the groundbreaking will be led by QC Mayor Herbert M. Bautista and the City Council.
The two housing projects are situated at Barangay Payatas and Barangay Kaligayahan.
The ceremonies will include the laying of time capsule in Barangay Payatas at 11:00 a.m. Project partners Habitat for Humanity and Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-ibig) will participate in the said activity.
At 2:00 p.m., Barangay Kaligayahan will see the groundbreaking and laying of time capsule with project partners Phinma and Atty. Ofelia Arce.
Phinma is set to construct more than 800 housing units in the Arce Property in Barangay Kaligayahan. In Payatas, the Habitat for Humanity will build almost 400 units in the Oviedo Property.
Secretary to the Mayor and QC Task Force Housing chairman Tadeo Palma revealed that teachers, especially those teaching in Quezon City will be the first batch of beneficiaries of the socialized housing project to be developed by Habitat for Humanity in the area.
Sec. Palma said that the QC administrator wants to fast track the development of the city's socialized housing projects to attain the city’s pro-poor agenda of providing decent resettlement areas for the city's underprivileged residents.
The QC socialized housing project is a public-private partnership (PPP) which President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III is pushing in line with his Daang Matuwid advocacy.
"The problem of poverty and informal settlements in QC is huge. But, we can help make this challenge manageable through collaboration with the private sector," Mayor Bautista said.
==Orchids to hog the limelight==
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/330900/orchids-hog-limelight
*Wednesday, August 17, 2011, 8:00am
:By NORBY BAUTISTA
MANILA, Philippines -- The onset of the monsoon rains marks the staging of the 65th Mid-Year Orchid and Garden Show of the Philippine Orchid Society (POS).  To be held at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Diliman, the POS in partnership with the Quezon City Government will open the show on August 25 and will close September 5.
The show will carry the theme “Green Living with Orchids,” and will promote environment-friendly ways of gardening and orchid growing.  This season’s show is usually in time for the flowering season of our very own Vanda sanderiana or the majestic Waling-Waling orchid. Also highlighting this event is be the transformation of a part of the Quezon Memorial Circle park into a tropical paradise showcasing the best of this season’s blooming orchids with a competition for the search of the best Philippine Orchid species, the  best Waling-Waling,  and the best Orchid in the show.
Botanically speaking, orchids are one of the most advanced of all flowering plants and are efficient in transforming carbon dioxide into plant matter.  Orchid growing and gardening per se is our own little way of contributing in minimizing the effect of climate change, and at the same time, growing these unique plant treasures helps us conserve these endangered species in our own garden.  It also help us transform a monotonous concrete jungle into an interesting tropical paradise, shaded with trees, lined with cool loving ferns, landscaped with colorful flowering plants, and adorned with delightful uniquely scented orchid blooms.
It is also the role of the POS to continue, promote and encourage the hobby of orchid growing and gardening in any way possible as it is an interesting and income-generating leisure.  The orchid growing hobby is composed mostly of numerous plant hobbyists, which supports our country’s ornamental plant industry.  The Philippine plant industry has gone a long way, being highly respected upon by our Asian neighbors as Filipinos often win in landscape or orchid exhibits, which truly confirms that Filipinos has really excelled also in the art of landscaping and in plant cultivation, especially cut-flowers.
Participating in this show is our country’s top orchid and plant collectors and producers in tandem with the industry’s best landscapers.
Free lectures on orchid care will be given daily at 2 pm by orchid experts. A plant bazaar will be set up for those who wish to buy orchids direct from the growers. For more details regarding the POS Mid-Year show please call Tel no. 929-4425 or text 0917-8485468.
==QC housing project launched Friday==
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/330756/quezon-city-exempts-senior-citizens
*Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 4:27pm
:By CHITO A. CHAVEZ
MANILA, Philippines — The Quezon City government will formally launch socialized housing projects for informal settlers in Barangays Payatas and Kaligayahan in simple groundbreaking rites coinciding with the birth anniversary of President Manuel L. Quezon at two relocation sites on Friday.
Mayor Herbert M. Bautista will lead city officials in the groundbreaking ceremony where representatives of Pag-IBIG and project developers the Phinma and Habitat for Humanity are invited.
Also expected to attend are Vice President Jejomar Binay, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa.
Phinma is set to construct more than 800 housing units in the Arce Property in Barangay Kaligayan while Habitat for Humanity will build almost 400 units in the Oviedo property in Payatas.
The city government chose August 19 to start the socialized housing projects to fulfill one of Quezon’s dreams of giving shelter to poor families as part of his advocacy for social justice.
==Quezon City exempts senior citizens==
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/330756/quezon-city-exempts-senior-citizens
*Monday, August 15, 2011, 3:22pm
:By CHITO A. CHAVEZ
MANILA, Philippines — As a tribute to the city’s elderly, Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista has signed into law an ordinance exempting all local senior citizens from the payment of initial parking rates in city-based establishments charging parking fees.
To avail of the exemption, the city’s elderly residents must present their valid senior citizens identification cards upon entry in malls, hospitals, or any other similar establishments charging parking fees.
However, Bautista said the privilege granted by the ordinance shall not apply to overnight parking.
Greg Banacia chief of the city’s Public Affairs and Information Service Office (PAISO) said initial parking rates refer to the payment for the use of parking spaces provided by malls and similar establishments for the first three hours.
After the normal first three hours the senior citizens will then be required to pay the succeeding hourly parking rates of the concerned establishments.
He noted that senior citizens with valid identification cards secured from the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) are entitled to the parking privileges.
Banacia stressed that elderly occupants of the vehicles whether they are the drivers or passengers can enjoy the city’s special parking rates.
Councilor Allan Benedict Reyes of the city’s third district is the author of the ordinance.
Reyes said that under the ordinance, cashiers or booth attendants violating the law shall be penalized with a fine of P500 or an imprisonment of one day to 30 days or both at the discretion of the court.
The measure, approved by the 26-member city council on second reading on June 13, also carries a fine of P2, 000 or an imprisonment of one day to 30 days to any operator or manager violating the ordinance.
Reiteration of infraction by the operator or owner shall result to the revocation of the business permit of the parking area or space concerned.
To date, there is a continuing effort from the Quezon City government to expand the delivery of basic services among the city’s elderly residents in recognition to the vital role they play in the task of nation-building.
Reyes said that there are around 270,000 elderly residents in Quezon City.
==QC gov’t acts to save house of founding father==
*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/41185/qc-gov%E2%80%99t-acts-to-save-house-of-founding-father
*Sunday, August 14, 2011  1:15 am
:By Julie M. Aurelio
The government of Quezon City wants the house of its founding father declared as a heritage site.
It has made the request to the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) following reports that President Manuel Luis Quezon’s heirs were planning on selling the 3,678-square-meter property where he lived while recovering from tuberculosis before World War II.
Quezon was the president during the Commonwealth era. Quezon City was established in 1939 and was named after him.
He briefly served as the city’s acting mayor in 1939 until Tomas Morato took over the post.
The sprawling property on Gilmore Avenue in Barangay (village) Mariana, New Manila, includes a two-story house, two one-story structures, quarters for servants and a swimming pool.
In the city government’s documents, the two-story house where Quezon lived was described as a colonial-type structure with five rooms built in the 1920s.
The city government learned of the purported plan to sell the property as early as 2008, during the term of Mayor (now House Speaker) Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
In an interview with the Inquirer, Belmonte said only three or four old houses remained in upper-middle-class New Manila.
“I really think the city government should move not only to declare [the Quezon property] a heritage site but also to acquire and preserve it,” Belmonte, a history buff, pointed out.
Cultural treasure
:Quezon City planning and development officer Tomasito Cruz has written NHCP chairperson Maria Serena Diokno declaring the city government’s intention of registering the property as “an important cultural treasure.”
:In a letter dated August 8, Cruz wrote: “It was brought to the attention of the city government that the Quezon-Avanceña property located along Gilmore Avenue is being offered for sale.
:“May we therefore request your good agency [to tell us] the possible options on how to acquire subject property and declare it a heritage site in accordance with the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009.”
:The Inquirer tried to confirm the planned sale of the property with Quezon’s grandson, Enrique Quezon-Avanceña. But he responded in a text message: “The family has no comment on private family affairs.”
:Former Inquirer columnist and now Palace Undersecretary Manuel Quezon III did not reply to inquiries by text message.
:The city government itself has yet to receive official word from the family about the supposed planned sale.
:“They haven’t officially told us. But the reports on the sale prompted us to act on it,” said Quezon City administrator Victor Endriga, citing real estate sources.
Prime property
:A conservative estimate puts the value of the property at P110 million.
:“I believe it could go beyond that figure because that area is prime property. The house has historical and cultural value to Quezon City and the entire country as well,” Endriga said in an interview.
:He said the city government was “very worried about the proposed sale” of the precious landmark.
:In documents furnished to the Inquirer, the property was described as occupying two lots and bounded by Gilmore Avenue and 7th and 8th Streets in Barangay Mariana.
:The lots are registered to Zenaida “Nini” Quezon-Avanceña, the late President’s surviving daughter.
:Avanceña, now in her 90s, lived in the house for 62 years. She has been living in Ayala Alabang since 2006.
:The family had rented the house before buying it on installment, Avanceña said in an article run in the Inquirer in September 2008. She said the family had come to consider it a “lucky” house.
:A caretaker now looks after the property that also includes a Japanese tea house, a gazebo, a basketball court and a guard house, according to Greg Banacia, chief of Quezon City’s Public Affairs Information and Service Office.
Inspection in 2008
:Endriga recalled that Belmonte commissioned an inspection of the property after reports of the planned sale first surfaced. The inspection was conducted in the presence of a Quezon grandson.
:A 2008 report on the inspection stated that the swimming pool was “nonfunctional but with new tiles installed,” and that the Japanese tea house was in fair condition.
:A two-story structure built in the 1970s, which was used as office and storage space, and a one-story recreational hall, which served as a multipurpose hall, were among the renovations, the report said.
:Endriga said the city government wanted to convert the property into a museum dedicated to the late President.
:“That property has such a great historical significance that it would be a waste to let it go,” he said.
:The city government is willing to buy the property, either on its own or with the NHCP, Endriga said.
:Under the law, a property declared as a heritage site will receive funding for its conservation and restoration and will be maintained by the local government unit exercising jurisdiction over it.
:Once the property becomes a heritage site, it cannot be sold without the NHCP’s permission, Endriga said.
History
:According to Endriga, private developers have expressed interest in the property, which stands in an area where rows of townhouses are being developed.
:“That property is priceless because it stands for the cultural heritage of our history. What will happen to our children if they no longer know who Quezon is, years from now?” Endriga said.
==Touch lives thru information, PIOs told==
*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=48701
*Saturday, August 13, 2011
:by Jerome Carlo R. Paunan (RJB/JCP-PIA NCR)
QUEZON CITY, Aug. 13 (PIA) -- The Association of Information Officers in Metro Manila (AIMM) president is calling on all Public Information Officers (PIOs) of the 17 cities and Public Affairs Directors of national agencies based in Metro Manila to be more active in touching the lives of our people through information.
During the group's meeting at the Philippine Information Agency-National Capital Region (PIA-NCR) yesterday, AIMM president and Marikina City Infomation Officer Paul Edward P. Sison, invited PIOs of Pasig, Makati, Malabon, Las Pinas, Taguig, Pateros, Manila, and the MMDA; and the information directors of national agencies to join AIMM or be more active in the group’s activities.
“We can make a difference in the lives of our countrymen. With the right information and proper communication, we can facilitate change that touches lives and make our country a better place to live in,” said Sison.
He also announced AIMM’s advocacy of espousing developmental communications through regular media forums, a compendium of best practices to be launched in December, and AIMM journalism awards in June 2012.
Their media forum for the last week of August will feature the Puerto Princesa Underground River campaign for Seven Wonders with DILG as host, and DOT and DENR co-hosting. The next media forum on the second week of September will be hosted by Valenzuela.
Meanwhile, the induction of AIMM’s new set of officers is scheduled on Oct. 13 at 6:00 p.m. at the Kapitan Moy in Marikina. New members can call Susan De Leon of PIA-NCR and Treasurer of AIMM at tel. no. 929-4521 or 0928-5204310; or email at megamanila_pia@yahoo.com.
==DSWD targets 0 streetchildren in 10 NCR priority areas==
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/330347/qc-sponsor-more-scholars
*Friday, August 12, 2011
:by Lucy F. Brono(PIA-NCR/RJB/LFB)
QUEZON CITY, August 12 (PIA) -- More than 4,000 streetchildren roam the streets of Metro Manila facing dangers of all sorts.
The government, through the concerted efforts of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the 17 local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila gathered in a forum last August 9 to find ways to address the needs of the street people especially the children.
The Advocacy Forum with Metro Manila local chief executives and partners in Safeguarding the Welfare of Street Children, Street Families and the Bajaus held last August 9 at Crowne Plaza in Ortigas seeks to give the street people their basic rights deprived of them.
The DSWD asked the assistance of all stake holders to return the basic rights deprived of them and is pressing for zero streetchildren in 10 critical areas in Metro Manila.
DSWD Secretary Juliano “Dinky” Soliman in her opening speech asked, “Anong puwedeng gawing samasama upang mapangalagaan ang mga tao sa kalsada? Anong pagtutulungan ang kailangan para sa batang malaya?”
As the country’s melting pot, the National Capital Region (NCR) tops the list in the number of streetchildren, street families, and Badjaus. More than 4,000 streetchildren converge in 10 critical areas of the eight local government units namely: Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan, Pasay, Pasig, Paranaque, Mandaluyong, and Muntinlupa. The incidence of streetchildren was based on the rapid appraisal conducted in November 2010 by DSWD with partner agencies and non government organizations.
A massive rescue operation conducted last April 27 and May 10-11, 2011 in cooperation with the 16 LGUs except Makati was able to produce profile of these street people and pinpoint the 10 critical areas where they mostly converge.
On his part, City of Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim said that he will give his all out support to the program but needs the resources of the government for a successful implementation of the “Zero Street Children.”
“To avoid the incidence of merry go round, a unified, concerted, and systematic coordination among local government, national government, and of nongovernment organization must be enforced,” Mayor Lim added.
The importance of a well organized and active Barangay Committee for the Welfare of Children (BCPC) was the Department of Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) answer to prevent the incidence of streetchildren.
DILG Secretary Jesse Robredo said, “Mahalagang bigyan ng katotohanan ang BCPC. Mag-umpisa sa sarili at asikasuhin ang sarili.”
Secretary Robredo added that amendment to juvenile law is needed so that the children will not be used in crimes as this prevents them from getting a good future. He said that this must be immediately addressed while they are still young for who knows what they will be capable of when they are older.
Meanwhile, the DSWD has already lined up programs for the street people which include provision of permanent shelter and access to income generating opportunities, educational assistance, provision of income generating projects through SEA-K to home based families of street children, center based services, reunification to parents, balik probinsiya, activity centers, and others. Local government units are also encouraged to duplicate these activities.
In her closing address, CWC executive director Brenda Vigo said,”Every child must be given their rights. We are heeding the call to support the program and to be reminded always that every child is our responsibility.”
The Forum was highlighted by the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between DSWD and the LCEs of the LGUs which are the priority areas for the implementation of the Comprehensive Program for Streetchildren.
The Declaration of Commitment was also signed by all participants to signify their commitment to the program.
Under the MOA, the DSWD shall provide financial and technical support in partnership with the LGUs to implement the Comprehensive Program for Street Children, Street Families and IPs, especially Bajaus, while the LGUs shall provide the necessary financial and technical counterpart in the implementation of this project on a cost sharing scheme.
==QC to sponsor more scholars==
*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=1&t=1&id=48572
*Thursday, August 11, 2011, 6:30pm
:By CHITO A. CHAVEZ
MANILA, Philippines — To provide quality education to poor but deserving students, the Quezon City Council passed a law awarding the top 10 graduates of the city’s public high schools with regular scholarship grants under the Scholarship and Youth Development Program (SYDP).
Councilor Precious Hipolito Castelo of the city’s second district, who authored the ordinance, said the top 10 graduates from the city’s public high schools will automatically qualify as SYPD scholars regardless if the student is already a scholar of other schools or institutions.
The approval of ordinance number SP-2071 S-2011 has practically doubled the city’s admission slots for scholars from public high schools for the next school year.
Castelo said “as the city puts in place its poverty alleviation measures to help the less privileged among the QC residents,” there is a need for a long-term solution like providing more scholarships.
Mayor Herbert Bautista was elated with the passing of the measure since it boosts the city government’s thrust of providing quality education to students whose parents can hardly cope with their daily expenses.
“The city government is determined to settle all concerns in order to minimize the number of displaced youth in the city and upgrade the literacy among the QC populace,” Bautista said.
There are 5,689 underprivileged but deserving students who graduated with honors that are benefiting from the city government’s scholarship program.
A student who finishes high school as valedictorian or salutatorian receives a scholarship grant of P80,000 including a stipend of P20,000 a year.
Students who finished first to third honorable mention in high school and Sangguniang Kabataan officials and alumni of the SB Center for Excellence (Centrex) were each given a P30,000 scholarship grant and a P10,000 stipend.
==PNoy lauds use of coconet for rehab of MM esteros, waterways==
==PNoy lauds use of coconet for rehab of MM esteros, waterways==
*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=ncr&id=48177
*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=ncr&id=48177
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