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==TESDA-Bicol allots Php177M for scholarship in 2015==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=746467
*Friday, March 20, 2015
:By Nancy Ibo Mediavillo [(PNA), LAP/FGS/NIM/CBD/RSM]
LEGAZPI CITY, March 20 (PNA) -- At least Php177 million has been allotted by the Technical and Educational Skills Development Authority-Bicol for its scholarship program in the region this year.
TESDA-Bicol Regional Director Conrado Bares disclosed this in a press conference held Thursday at the TESDA conference room here.
The amount is for some 20,000 scholars in the six provinces of Albay, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Sorsogon and the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate.
The biggest allocation is for Training Work Skills Program, Php104.16 million; Bottom-Up Budgeting, Php25.20 million; Skills Training for Employment Program, Php25.50 million; and Private Education Students Financial Assistance, Php22.18 million.
Bares asked the public to contact their provincial offices for the details and procedure on how to apply for these various scholarships.
He clarified that the courses that can be pursued under the four scholarship programs are agriculture, fishery, agribusiness and agro-industrial, tourism, information technology, business process management, semi-conductor and electronics, automotive, general infrastructure, manufacturing, logistics, and trainers' methodology.
The TESDA head said there are 225 TESDA-accredited schools in the region.
Camarines Sur has 82; Albay, 58; Camarines Norte, 27; Masbate, 24; Sorsogon, 21; and Catanduanes, 13.
Bares said their office, through the Economic Sector of the Regional Development Council-Bicol headed by Gov. Joey Sarte Salceda, plans to put up additional training centers in remote areas of the region like in Pandan, Catanduanes; third district of Masbate; Pioduran, Albay; Capalongga, Camarines Norte; and other areas.
He said that aside from the TESDA, he urged local government units to also establish technical-vocational schools in their respective areas.
==60 Legazpi street vendors get Nego Karts==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=745884
*Thursday, March 19, 2015
:(PNA), FFC/FGS/EPS/CBD/EDS
LEGAZPI CITY, March 19 (PMA) -- Sixty ambulant vendors received Nego-Karts from Legazpi City Mayor Noel E. Rosal and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE)-Bicol Assistant Regional Director Karen Trayvilla during a simple ceremony Wednesday at the newly constructed city’s Activity Center at the Motorpool Compound.
The Nego-Kart project is a shared responsibility or a counterparting agreement among the City Government of Legazpi, the DOLE regional office and the 60 ambulant vendors.
The beneficiaries contributed PHP1,500 each while the city administration committed PHP108,000 and the DOLE also shared PHP402,000 for assembling the karts.
This livelihood project is the result of a tie-up among the City’s Public Employment Services Office (PESO), market administrator Julius Del Rosario and 60 selected street food vendors as recipients of this project.
Rosal said that aside from these Nego-Karts, the city administration and the DOLE have also distributed some livelihood materials to the city’s women’s organizations for manicure services, cooking and other activities.
The city chief executive revealed that these ambulant vendors are considered as partners in development by the city government because these people have big contribution to the movement of the local economy.
He revealed that part of the plan of his administration is to establish a road night market in the commercial areas of this city to give those ambulant vendors sufficient time to do business as well as to encourage other people to also engage in the street food businesses.
Rosal also urged the beneficiaries of this project to always offer healthy, clean, safe and affordable food to the consuming public.
He asked the DOLE to always cooperate with the program of the city administration to give the people more employment opportunities in order to improve their daily living condition.
Trayvilla said this Nego-Kart project is part of the agenda of the national government under the Aquino administration for an inclusive growth that all people in the community will benefit.
The official disclosed that based on the record collated by the DOLE, Bicol Region has the highest poverty incidence and “this project is part of the solution to that kind of problem that we encountered by way of giving our constituents an opportunity to become self-employed.”
Through the help of Rosal and PESO manager Cristine Zantua, the services of the DOLE was very much effective in helping the people in the community, she pointed out.
Trayvilla urged the recipients to always take care of their Nego-Karts because these would serve as the tools for their livelihood activities that will surely help them increase their daily income.
The Nego-Kart is one of the many DOLE’s projects to assist the unemployed and to improve the lives of many hardworking persons in the community but they only earn insufficient income.
This project also provides assistance to all the ambulant vendors that will enable them to upgrade their products and services for the satisfaction of the consuming public.
The recipients expressed optimism and vowed to work in the right way of engaging in business and gave assurance to always protect the equipment that they received from the DOLE and the City Government of Legazpi.
==Famous chefs gather in Albay for DMF 2015 Food Festival==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=745529
*Wednesday, March 18, 2015
:By Johnny C. Nunez [(PNA), FFC/JCN/EBP]
LEGAZPI CITY, March 18 (PNA) -- The Philippines’ famous chefs will converge in Albay on April 27-29, in a creative showdown with local culinary masters designed to enable them to concoct their own versions of the province's popular and favorite cuisines.
The showdown will give Albay’s culinary tourism a more defined and expanded role in tourism development. It will be held at the Penaranda Park in front of the Provincial Capitol here as a component event of the month-long 2015 Daragang Magayon Festival (DMF15).
Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said the event supports the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) Flavors of the Philippines campaign, and at the same time further enhances Albay’s local food favorites that will ultimately benefit the local restaurant industry.
Salceda said food is not just an appendix of the tourism industry; it is a legitimate tourism industry in itself that provides the best gastronomic experiential adventure for tourists, local or foreign.
“Albay's cuisines are very Pacific and the most Asian in nature. The use of gata (coconut milk), sili, pili, and the perfect addition of taro (gabi) leaves and the abundance of camote makes it one of the most flavorful culinary experience one can get anywhere in the Philippines,” said Salceda.
Albay is the largest pili nut producer and second largest camote producer in the country. Taro leaves are principal ingredients of the now famous ethnic culinary specialty, the Pinangat.
Among those expected to participate in the DMF15 food festival are Chef Gene Gonzales and son Chef Gino, Chef Boy Logro, Chef Rolando Laudico and wife Chef Jackie, who will team up with top Albay chefs for a series of exhibitions. The culinary experts will explore their creativity in coming up with their versions of Albay's favorite cuisines, both traditional and fusion.
The event will be featured as an out-of-town destination of Madrid Fusion Manila, and dubbed as Albay: The Coco Spice Tour. It will be first ever edition of the globally popular Madrid Fusion in the Philippines. It is considered a very important Spanish gastronomic congress.
Madrid Fusion’s invitational offers the chefs the opportunity to commune with and have breakfast at the foot of majestic Mayon Volcano, discover making pili nut processing, have a glimpse of the local market and homegrown culinary ingredients, learn how to prepare authentic pinangat (coconut and taro leaf dish) and Guinobatan’s longganisa, savor the flavor of laing pasta, taste the difference of dinuguan (pork blood stew) cooked with roasted coconut, bite into the delicious depth of bagnet Bicol express, and cool off with a chili ice cream.
Daragang Magayon Festival, a yearly cultural fare of Albay that has consistently and successfully given the province’s tourism the needed boost, will kick off last week of March and go on through the whole month of April. DOT has declared Albay as a “tourism powerhouse” and predicted to lead in the next major wave of the country’s tourist inflow.
Tagged as the hottest tourist destination in the country, Albay has displayed a phenomenal tourism growth, from 8,700 in 2007 when Salceda assumed the governorship, to 339,000 in 2013. The his figure has steadily grown since 2011.
DOT has continuously showcased Albay in many international tourism fairs, the latest of which was the March 10-13, 2015 Marche International Proffesionels d’Immobilier at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, an annual show participated in by influential property players worldwide.
==Albay's west coast benefits from DENR’s coral management program==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=745043
*Tuesday, March 17, 2015
:By Danny O. Calleja [(PNA), FFC/FGS/DOC/CBD/EBP]
LEGAZPI CITY, March 17 (PNA) -- A national government program for the sustainable development and protection of the local marine ecosystem has been put in place in barangays along the western coastline of Albay.
Called the Sustainable Coral Reef Ecosystem Management Program (SCREMP), this undertaking being spearheaded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) will benefit at least 23 barangays covered by four local government units (LGUs) within the third congressional district of the province.
These LGUs are the City of Ligao and the municipalities of Libon, Pioduran and Oas whose marine ecosystem sitting along the northern coastline of Ticao and Burias Passes is considered unique and extremely important owing, among others, to its proximity to the sanctuaries of manta rays and whale sharks that are both government-protected species.
The Manta Ray Bowl that draws a notable number of international leisure divers is located off the nearby town of San Jacinto at Ticao Island of Masbate while the whale sharks locally called butandings that are major tourist drawer are seasonally homed each year at the neighboring coastal waters of Donsol, Sorsogon.
As an initial move for the full implementation of SCREMP, the Bicol University (BU), through its Research and Development Center, has already been conducting a series of “coastal vulnerability assessment” to determine the status of the area’s coral reefs and determine management measures that should be instituted under the program.
BU, representing research and academic institutions, is one of the DENR's partners in the implementation of this program that is also being coordinated with the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources of the Department of Agriculture, other concerned national government agencies, LGUs, non-government organizations and the private sectors.
DENR Regional Director Gilbert Gonzales on Tuesday here explained that SCREMP is a national program being carried out by the environment and natural resources department to conduct a strategic, sustainable and ecosystem-based approach in protecting and rehabilitating the coral reef ecosystem.
Its implementation in selected coastal areas in the country, which was started by the Aquino administration in 2012 and set to last until 2020, carries with it various components that include habitat and vulnerability assessments, coral reef rehabilitation and protection, social mobilization and development, marine protected area strengthening and networking and sustainable livelihood interventions, Gonzales said.
In livelihood interventions, he said, the estimated benefits of the SCREMP activities from this year to 2017 alone in terms of job generation would go to around 40,000 families, amounting to some PHP500 million that could be gained from activities such as coastal ecosystem enterprises and coral reef protection and management works.
Participating barangay residents will be trained for these undertakings by field officers from the DENR and other involved agencies who are equipped with expertise and basic information on such activities.
Gonzales said the Albay west coast was included as beneficiary of the program because it is identified as among the country’s Protected Landscape and Seascape, a priority site proclaimed protected area under the National Integrated Protected Area System (NIPAS) Act of 1992 by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 291 dated April 23, 2000.
Like the other programs of the DENR, the implementation of SCREMP is expected to contribute to food security and improve human well-being of the coastal communities, implement sustainable management of coastal and marine resources through resource and habitat conservation, protection and rehabilitation, among other objectives, according to Gonzales.
Congressman Fernando Gonzalez lauded the DENR for the inclusion as beneficiary of the program of the coastal area of his district which he wanted also to be developed into a tourism haven in line with the government’s drive to create multi-faceted tourist destinations.
For this, Gonzalez has recently filed House Bill 4599 seeking that the unspoiled white sand beaches along the Albay west coast, whose diversity and unique attraction offer an alternative to the highly commercialized beaches and mangrove or Boracay and Palawan, be developed as an additional tourism site for the province.
The bill, when enacted into law, will declare the area as a tourism spot and task the Department of Tourism (DOT) in its development through funds to be appropriated by Congress.
The area includes the beaches along barangays Buenavista, Malidong, Basicao Coastal and Marigondon, all in Pioduran town; Maonon, Cabarian and Catbulawan of Ligao City; Badian, Cagmanaba, Maramba and Nagas of Oas; and Apud, Rawis, Talin-talin and Pantao of Libon.
According to Gonzalez, the development of the area, which in the past has been off the beaten path, was started in 2010 and going on today through the huge amount of money already allocated under the government’s general appropriations to complete the Albay West Coast road by 2016.
The proposed law says that “in coordination with other government agencies concerned, the DOT shall prepare, within one year from the approval of this Act a tourism development plan involving the construction, installation and/or maintenance of such appropriate facilities and infrastructure as shall encourage tourism in the area.”
The DOT shall also take the necessary steps to implement such development plan and incorporate the same in its tourism development program for the ensuing calendar year, the bill states.
Gonzalez explained that when the Albay west coast is declared as tourism development site, its beaches would add to the attractiveness of the province apart from what are offered by Mt. Mayon, the world’s most perfect cone-shaped volcano, the most photographed Cagsawa Ruins and other national historical and cultural heritage sites in the locality.
The SCREMP, on the other hand, will help maintain the natural wonders of the place by way of protecting and preserving the beauty and usefulness of its marine ecology, he added.
==Tigerair flies Manila—Legazpi route starting March 29==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=6&rid=744677
*Monday, March 16, 2015
:By Danny O. Calleja  [(PNA), FFC/FGS/DOC/CBD]
LEGAZPI CITY, March 16 (PNA) -- Low-budget leisure travel carrier Tigerair Philippines will start flying the Manila-Legazpi route on March 29, its management has announced.
“We are happy to announce our new flights to one of the most beautiful destinations in the Philippines – Legazpi. We look forward to offering low fares to even more destinations,” Leilani de Leon, the company’s legal and corporate affairs chief, said in a statement reaching here over the weekend.
De Leon said the airline company will use any of its fleet of four Airbus A320 aircraft in flying this new route that will make a total of 14 the destinations it serves: Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro, Clark, Cebu, General Santos, Iloilo, Kalibo, Legazpi, Manila, Roxas, Puerto Princesa, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, and Hong Kong.
Tigerair Philippines, formerly known as SEAir and South East Asian Airlines, is a low-cost airline headquartered in Manila and a franchise and subsidiary of JG Summit, the parent company of Cebu Pacific which operates the airline.
This Tigerair flight will bring to at least five the total number of flights serving the Manila-Legazpi route daily; the others are being made by Philippine Airlines (PAL), Cebu Pacific and Zest Air.
Cebu Pacific also maintains a four-flight weekly schedule between the Legazpi-Cebu route.
“Tigerair is very much welcome as it is a response to the need for more carriers serving the growing number of tourist and visitors coming to our city,” City Mayor Noel Rosal on Sunday told the Philippine News Agency here.
The city, he said, has been fast emerging as among the favorite travel destinations and venue of big national and international gatherings like conventions, meetings, conferences, sport events and tours making wise the decision of Tigerair management to fly the route.
While the city has been playing host to big occasions, the local government, at the same time caters to an influx of investments and massive urban development that continuously attract travelers, the mayor said.
After playing host to 17 grand gatherings during the first 10 weeks of this year, 14 more and still counting, so far have been set to take place here until the last week of November.
These already listed occasions expected to bring in tens of thousands of visitors from all over the country and abroad, come as the city guns for a slot in the five top convention destinations—at least in Luzon by 2020.
The biggest of these gatherings would be the 99th Annual Communication (ANCOM) of the Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in the Philippines which will be on April 23-16 at the city government-owned Ibalong Centrum for Recreation (ICR).
It is expected to be attended by more than 6,000 delegates from the hundreds of Masonic Lodges in the country and abroad.
“Our quest for preference as venue of big national and international gatherings is anchored on our being highly capable now of hosting and properly handling friendly visitors from any part of the world,” Rosal said.
The city is also eyeing this year a slot in the country’s top 10 best tourist destinations where it placed 14th in 2013 for achieving an impressive tourism industry growth represented by the listed 579,470 domestic and foreign tourist arrivals, which was higher by 32.27-percent rate from the previous year counted at only 141,370.
After surpassing that half-million tourism arrival mark, the city government improved further its tourism performance by hitting the 700,000 count last year for an industry growth rate of at least 25 percent which perhaps would be good enough for the city to capture one of the top slots in the country’s best tourist destinations.
“Our daily arrivals either via the average five daily commercial flights from Manila and Cebu or land trips coming from Metro Manila and several other origins in Luzon and the Visayas islands are the biggest contributors to our tourist arrivals, averaging around 1,500 daily,” he noted.
The city has indeed become a favorite destination not only because of the majestic Mt. Mayon, the world’s most perfect coned volcano, but also of 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 other places to boast.
Legazpi’s unique culture, cuisine, natural wonders including Legazpeños’ resilience developed with their ability to endure natural calamities and disasters are endearing factors that also attract tourists and visitors, the mayor said.
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 amenities have been sprouting like mushrooms around the city and ready to take in all visitors on any given time.
“Our city is one of the country’s top tourism destinations that is why we are making every inch of our development focused on tourism as a primary strategy in our pursuit for inclusive and horizontal growth,” he said.
This growth benefits not only big investors such as hotel and resort owners and operators but also the people in the countryside where most of tourist destinations are located by providing more opportunities for employment and business ventures, he added.
==2016 Palaro in Albay to become a sports tourism event==
*Source: http://www.philstar.com/sports/2015/03/15/1433836/2016-palaro-albay-become-sports-tourism-event
*Sunday, March 15, 2015 12:00 am
:By Danny O. Calleja  (The Philippine Star)
MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has approved a P700-million budget for the 2016 Palarong Pambansa, with host Albay committing to put up a counterpart fund of P150 million.
Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said half of the budget approved by the President has already been released for the construction of sports facilities, among them the Albay Sports Complex in Guinobatan town, the games’ main venue.
The facility will have an international standard track oval and grandstand.
The Albay Palaro will be rolled out as a sports tourism event, the first time in the history of the national games. The event will be a source of additional revenue for the host province with the influx of tourists during the games, Salceda said.
Salceda said about 15,000 athletes and officials from the country’s 17 regions are expected to join the Palaro.
Aside from playing host, Albay also hopes to improve on its ninth-place finish in the 2014 Palaro in Laguna, where it garnered five of the nine golds earned by the region. Albay hopes to fare well in the May 3-9 Palaro this year in Tagum City.
In line with its tourism program, the host province will spread Palaro’s 21 events around the province to give participants and visitors a chance to explore Albay’s best tourism destinations and specialties.
“My guideline to Team Albay, the Palarong Pambansa 2016 technical working group, is to design a multi-venue layout, that shall distribute participants in different sports sites around the province so they can also enjoy our global standard tourism sites while competing,” Salceda said.
As a leading province in the country’s travel and tourism, Albay figured prominently in the March 10-13, 2015 Marche International Proffesionels d’Immobilier at the Palais de Festivals in Cannes, France.
The province has been featured in many national and international travel marketing fairs, including the Berlin ITB 2012, the London WTM 2013, the Shanghai ITM 2013, and the Department of Tourism promotions in Hong Kong in 2014. 
The modernized sports facilities will be viable and sustainable for Albay since they can host future big international events like the Southeast Asian Games, Salceda added.
The games facilities will sport locally inspired designs, drawing ideas from Albay’s iconic products.
For instance, the Albay Sports Complex main arena will feature Abaca Weave and Pili Nut-inspired designs; the Oas Arena, with a “Puto”-inspired ambience and “Coco Coir” finish; and the gymnastic events building, with a “Pinangat”-inspired images.
In Daraga town, the Bagumbayan Gym will also be reconstructed and the historic Daraga Covered Court restored into a park.
The park was formerly known as the Ninoy Park in honor of Ninoy Aquino. Here, President Aquino, first sought the help of Albayanos in the quest for justice for his slain father.
==Week-long euphoria to mark Ligao City’s 14th Foundation Day==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=6&rid=744396
*Saturday, March 14, 2015
:By Danny O. Calleja [(PNA), RMA/FGS/DOC/CBD/]
LIGAO CITY, March 14 (PNA) – It will be a no-work day for workers in this fast-growing young Bicol metropolis on March 24 as the city culminates a week-long jubilation for its 14th Cityhood Anniversary this year.
The break was authorized by Malacañang through its recently issued Proclamation No. 965 declaring the anniversary date a non-working holiday.
Recognized as a barrio of Polangui, Albay, since 1606 and ceded to its nearby town of Oas in 1665 to finally become an independent municipality in 1666, this locality gained its city status on March 24, 2001 through Republic Act No. 9008 or the Ligao City Charter which was ratified in a plebiscite with a overwhelming “yes” votes of 17,753 as against the 1,387 “no”.
The Cityhood Anniversary Motorcade around the city will open the celebrations on Wednesday morning to signal the start of various events and activities for the day -- such as the photo exhibits, the regular mass blood-letting for donations, Financial Literacy Seminar, Persons with Disabilities Mini-Olympic and Mass Eye Screening.
The day will also see the inaugurations of the Barangay Calzada-Maharlika Diversion and the farm-to-market road linking Barangays Batang and Pinit that are both projects funded through national allocations initiated in Congress by Rep. Fernando Gonzalez of Albay’s 3rd Congressional District.
The Farmers’ Day that will honor peasants, whom the city government highly regards as the backbone of the local economy, will be on Day 2 of the celebrations -- featuring the opening of an agri-trade fair, farm photo exhibits, medical check-up, a job’s fair and career information drive and farmers’ “Laro ng Lahi”.
Farmers are special here because the local economy is anchored on 80-percent agriculture with some 20,000 hectares of its total land area devoted to agricultural crop production.
A Zumba Total Dance Fitness for Health will be staged in late afternoon while at the end of the day, there will be the Talent’s Night for the Binibining Ligao pageant.
The next days will be more of fun and excitement from a mass tree-planting activity, awarding day, youth concert dubbed MuziKabataan, coastal caravan featuring colorfully-decorated boats, Binibining Ligao Coronation Night, a synchronized estero and river clean-up, mass wedding, youth caravan, parade of festivals and the anniversary ball.
Several other sports events like Amazing Race-Coastal Edition, Cityhood Babies Race, pedicab race, chess and volleyball tournaments, the Takbo-Panalo: Fun Run to Fitness and Wealth and the Francisco V.Gonzalez Memorial Cup – Mountain Bike (MTB) Challenge have been lined up for the week-long celebrations.
“We expect thousands to arrive for this occasion that also serves as grand homecoming of Ligaueños who are working or now living anywhere in the country or overseas as an expression of the oneness of our people,” City Mayor Patricia Gonzalez-Alsua told the Philippines News Agency on Friday.
She said the week-long events depict religious, cultural and economic transformation of the locality from a second-class town to a component city that is proud of its rich cultural heritage and good social values.
Alsua said visitors and tourists also come for this special yearly occasion particularly that it is timed with the Lenten Season that brings in thousands of devotees and pilgrims to the Kawa-Kawa Hill Natural Park, one of the city’s key tourism sites for its featuring of the Way of the Cross with giant sculptures dramatizing the final days of the life of Jesus.
Nicknamed the “hill without a hilltop,” Kawa-Kawa Hill’s summit comes as a thin wall that surprisingly encircles a sunken three-hectare plateau, forming a sprawling flat surface that looks like an elegantly-landscaped amphitheater carpeted with carefully-mowed green grasses serving as a playground, activity complex, horseback-riding field and camping site.
Hence, the hill’s name is derived from such natural feature that resembles a “kawa,” the local term for cauldron or Chinese wok.
The top of its rim, however, offers the panoramic view—on the northwestern side—of the entire city sitting amid an expansive green field of rice paddies crisscrossed by irrigation systems deriving water from rivers whose banks are guarded by concrete flood-control structures.
Such scenery draws sighs of confidence that the city, whose development is primarily focused on its agricultural communities, is assured of sufficiency in farm-sourced food supply.
The natural ambience and healthful surroundings offered by Kawa-Kawa Hill is supported by the gentle blowing of the wind that soothes every visitor’s body with cool and refreshing air even during summer when the blooming of sunflowers on established fields all over the place down to street sides, backyards flower gardens and public parks in the city is an impressive sight.
Gonzalez describes the city, his hometown, as a locality with a distinct charm as it has the blend of relaxed atmosphere and a scenic view that soothes the tired mind, mesmerizes the body and delights one’s soul.
Its unspoiled beaches along three coastal barangays offer an alternative to the highly commercialized beaches of Boracay and Palawan as well as business opportunities for possible investors and entrepreneurs for further development into a tourism site, he added.
==DepEd Bicol bares list of schools to offer senior high school in 2016==
*Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/2591426235699/deped-bicol-bares-list-of-schools-to-offer-senior-high-school-in-2016
*Friday, March 13, 2015
:By Joseph John J. Perez (JJJP-PIA5)
LEGAZPI CITY, March 13 (PIA) – The Department of Education (DepEd) confirms that 1,251 schools in Bicol are ready to offer the senior high school (SHS) program under the K to 12 curriculum by 2016.
“These schools, mostly big schools in the provinces, have basic facilities already and have already met the requirements of the SHS program,” DepEd Bicol Curriculum and Learning Management Division Chief Haydee Bolivar told the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) during the “Aramon Ta Daw”  (Be Informed)” radio program recently.
Bolivar also clarified that the list is constantly updated as more schools qualify for the SHS program and as other learning institutions express intent in establishing SHS facilities.
In an earlier interview conducted by PIA in the same radio program, DepEd V Education Program Supervisor Cecile Ferro disclosed that the SHS program will offer four components or tracks;  academic, technical/ vocational and livelihood (TVL), arts and design, and sports.
Bolivar further clarified that there will be four strands under the academic track, namely, Accountancy, Business and Management (ABM), Humanities and Social Sciences (HUMSS), Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), and General Academic Strand (GAS).
Camarines Sur leads the provinces with 371 schools qualified to offer SHS followed by Albay with 251 and Sorsogon with 144 schools. Masbate province has 130 schools, Camarines Norte and Catanduanes have 108 schools each for SHS program.
Among the Bicol cities, Sorsogon City has the most number of schools with 35 followed by Legazpi and Tabaco Cities with 22 each, and Naga City with 19. Masbate meanwhile has 16 schools, Iriga City with 13 and Ligao City with 12.
All provinces and cities in the Bicol region have schools that will offer ABM, STEM and GAS under the academic track, and TVL.
However, both Ligao and Masbate Cities do not have any school yet that will offer HUMSS, while Iriga, Legazpi, Masbate and Sorsogon Cities is facing the same case for schools that will offer arts and design track. The same is true with Iriga, Legazpi, Ligao, and Sorsogon Cities with no schools yet to offer sports track under the SHS program.
In Albay, the following schools will offer senior high school: St. Benedict’s Academy, Rapu-Rapu Community College, Oas Community College, Virgin of Carmel High School, Libon Community College, Zamora Memorial College, Republic Colleges of Guinobatan, Inc., Bicol College, Mary’s Child Science Oriented School, Sunshine International School, St. Peter’s Academy, Dominican School of Camalig, Immaculate Conception High School, Carolyna Institute of Technology, Inc., St. Michael Academy and PLT College of Guinobatan.
In Camarines Sur, the schools identified for SHS offering  are: La Florianne Institute of Learning, Inc., Pasacao Academy, Inc., Philippine Computer Foundation College, Inc., Mariner’s Polytechnic Colleges Foundation, Colegio De Santa Rita Foundation, Inc., Mataas na Paaralan ng Pagatpatan, St. John The Baptist Institute of Bicol, Inc., Holy Trinity College, WRI Colleges, Partido College, Siena College Tigaon, King Thomas Learning Academy, Inc., Bicol Central Academy, St. Paul Academy, Camarines Science Oriented High School, Inc., Colegio Del Santissimo Rosario, Partido State University and Santa Monica Academy.
In Camarines Norte, Our Lady of Lourdes College Foundation, AMA Computer Learning Center, St. John the Apostle Academy, Calabaca Academy, Manila Bicol South Road Academy, Maria Aurora Academy, Capalonga Institute, La Consolacion College-Daet, and Mabini Colleges confirmed that they will also open SHS.
The Christian Polytechnic Institute and Catanduanes Colleges will offer SHS in the island province of Catanduanes.
In Sorsogon, the following schools will also offer  senior high school: AMA Computer Learning Center, Aemilianum College, Inc., St. Louise de Marillac College of Sorsogon, Solis Institute of Technology, Villanueva Gabao Institute, Inc., Estenias Science Foundation School, Inc., Data Base Technology Computer School, Sorsogon Our Lady of Foundation College, Inc. (ACSAT), Meriam College of Technology, Veritas College of Irosin, AMA Computer Learning Center, The Lewis College and the Dominican School of Pilar.
The University of St. Anthony, WRI Colleges and Ceguera Technological Colleges, Inc., in Iriga City will also do the same.
In Masbate, these schools are: Osmeña Colleges, Burias College, Inc., St. Anthony High School Seminary, Liceo de Baleno, Liceo de San Jose, Immaculate Conception Academy, Liceo de Masbate, Liceo de San Jacinto Foundation and Southern Masbate Roosevelt College.
In Legazpi City, the schools are: Informatics Computer Institute, Divine Word College of Legazpi, St. Raphael Academy, Aquinas University of Legazpi, Southern Luzon Technological College Foundation, Inc., Genecom Institute of Science and Technology, Inc., Computer Communication Development Institute, St. Agnes Academy, Datamex Institute of Computer Technology, and Mariners’ Polytechnic Colleges.
In Naga City, Ateneo De Naga University, Naga College Foundation, University of Nueva Caceres, St. Joseph School, WRI Colleges, Universidad de Santa Isabel, Naga Hope Christian School, Mariners Polytechnic College, Concepcion Pequeña National High School and Naga City Montessori School have also SHS offerings.
In Tabaco City, the schools that will offer the senior high school program are: Daniel B. Peña Memorial College Foundation, Informatics Computer Institute, Tabaco College, Computer Communication Development Institute, Polytechnic Institute of Tabaco, Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College, MTC Academy-Albay, Amando Cope College, St. Louise de Marillac School of Tabaco and Carolyna Institute of Technology, Incorporated.
==National government allots Php125M for 210 villages in Albay under Barangay Forest Program==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=743828
*Thursday, March 12, 2015
:By Nancy Ibo Mediavillo [(PNA), FFC/FGS/NIM/CBD/]
LEGAZPI CITY, March 12 (PNA) -- The national government has allotted Php125 million for the implementation of the Barangay Forest Program (BFP) under the National Greening Program (NGP) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) by virtue of Executive Order No. 26 issued by President Benigno S. Aquino III in 2011 and Joint Memorandum Circular No. 2013-03 of the DENR and the Department of Interior and Local Government.
Imee Baltazar, Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer-Albay, said the amount represents the mobilization fund to start the program in Albay.
Each of the 210 barangays will receive Php20,000 for every hectare of land covered by the program, which aims to increase and protect trees in the villages.
Baltazar said that after one year, the barangay local government unit is required to allot fund from its internal revenue allotment.
She said the DENR-Bicol has already evaluated 204 villages included in the program and field personnel of the DENR, DILG and Provincial Government of Albay headed by Governor Joey Sarte Salceda are still evaluating other barangays.
The 204 barangays under the program are well distributed in the three cities and 15 towns of the province, covering 1,492.4798 hectares of land.
These are in Malilipot, 7; Malinao, 8; Sto. Domingo, 6; Tabaco, 9; Tiwi, 12; Daraga, 6; Legazpi, 15; Manito, 12; Rapu-Rapu, 11; Bacacay, 3; Libon, 18; Ligao, 14; Oas, 16; Jovellar, 11; Pioduran, 16; Camalig, 17; Guinobatan, 12; and Polangui, 11.
==Ongoing works on Legazpi’s urban drainage system impress DPWH chief==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=743536
*Wednesday, March 11, 2015
:By Emmanuel P. Solis [(PNA), FFC/FGS/EPS/CBD]
LEGAZPI CITY, March 11 (PNA) -- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson was impressed with the on-going construction of the Legazpi City Urban Drainage System (LCUDS) during his visit here on Monday, Mayor Noel E. Rosal said Wednesday.
The LCUDS is considered a mega flood control project of the city administration and the DPWH, with a huge funding of Php2.1 billion from the national government.
The project started with an initial release of Php500 million included in the General Appropriations Act of 2012 followed by another Php300 million in 2014 from Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the DPWH Bicol regional office.
The civil works of the project, now being supervised by the DPWH in coordination with the Legazpi City Engineering Office, include the flood control structure along Tibu and Macabalo rivers to serve as waterways together with the rehabilitation and widening of canals in the main thoroughfare, which removed the old culvert-type canals and replaced these with the new wide box-type canals.
The project also involves the improvement and construction of flood control dikes, drainage systems and sea walls as part of the preparation for the installation of three giant pumping stations in barangays San Roque, Bay-bay and Victory Village.
These pumping facilities will be the first flood-mitigation structure in the Bicolandia patterned after project of the Japan International Cooperation Agency with a capacity of throwing-out three cubic meters of flood waters per second.
Singson disclosed that this flood control project is one of the most important factors in addressing the perennial flooding problems in this city that it will surely work for a quick release of flood waters during rainy seasons.
He said this kind of infrastructure project is the best structure that other local government units need to establish at their own respective areas, especially those localities vulnerable to typhoons and other forms of calamities.
Rosal said in his statement that this anti-flood control project materialized after the city suffered a very unforgettable experience brought by the aftermath of a destructive super typhoon “Reming” in 2006 that resulted in the huge number of casualties and destroyed the agricultural sector in this locality.
The city chief executive revealed that this anti-flood control structure materialized through the project study made by his administration in 2009 and submitted to Malacanang and approved by President Benigno Aquino III in 2010.
He pointed out that all residents along the Macabalo River that will affected by the construction of this drainage system were already relocated by the city administration to the resettlement site in the southern section of this city in Barangay Taysan.
He said these three pumping stations will be closed during heavy rains, high tides and typhoons because the flood waters from the slopes of Mount Mayon and other sources of waters from the rivers of nearby municipalities will be pumped out into the Albay Gulf.
==Caravans promoting regional tourism launched==
==Caravans promoting regional tourism launched==
*Source: http://www.philstar.com/travel-and-tourism/2015/03/10/1432091/caravans-promoting-regional-tourism-launched
*Source: http://www.philstar.com/travel-and-tourism/2015/03/10/1432091/caravans-promoting-regional-tourism-launched
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