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Provincial Capitol of Zamboanga del Sur, Santo Niño, Pagadian city

Dietary supplement is a product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.

Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded. That means that these firms are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all the requirements of DSHEA and FDA regulations.

Lapuyan Falls: The favorite haunt of the fair Subanen maidens of Sitio Baga and all its neighboring areas, usual meeting place with many a young country swain in some secluded cavern beneath the rocky forest lane.

Lakewood, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines

Village of Pedagan

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:

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.
The victims who are waiting for the right moment to retaliate. They can’t win yet, so they tolerate.

Lintugop, Aurora

Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur

Provincial human resource management office of santo niño pagadian city

Civil Service Commision office in santo niño pagadian city

Girl attacked by ‘drug addict’ in Zambo Sur recovering in hospital

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=918488
Wednesday, August 31, 2016 8:13:03

(LBG, GMA News)

The 7-year-old girl attacked by an alleged drug dependent man is now in stable condition in a hospital is Zamboanga del Sur.

Citing police information, Unang Balita reported Wednesday that the victim's hack wounds have been treated and the operation on the child has been successful.

Police investigators said the hacking incident happened in Molave town, and that the victim sustained hack wounds in the head, face, and arm.

An initial investigation showed that the attacker, Jose Carreon, believed to be a drug addict, mistook the child for police operative who, he claimed, came to arrest him.

Also, the report said that the suspect chased one of the responding policemen, brandishing the bolo he used earlier on the child.

Police shot the suspect who died later.

Tabak commander extols 1CAV squadron on its 40th anniversary

Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1371472537003/tabak-commander-extols-1cav-squadron-on-its-40th-anniversary
Tuesday, August 30, 2016

By Gideon C. Corgue (ALT/GCC/PIA9/Zamboanga del Sur)

LABANGAN, Zamboanga del Sur, Aug. 30 (PIA) – True to its mandate to serve the people and secure the land for four decades, the commanding officer of the 1st Infantry (Tabak) Division extolled the soldiers of the 1st Cavalry Squadron (Tagapanguna) Battalion, Mechanized Infantry Division (MID), Philippine Army (PA) for their remarkable achievements.

Speaking before officers and enlisted personnel of the 1st CAV during its 40th Founding Anniversary on August 22 at Camp Jacobe Zobel, MGen. Gerardo Barrientos, Jr., in a message read by Col. Casimiro Tamparong, acting chief of staff, said the 1st Infantry Division is more than proud of the unit’s high caliber performance.

The 1st Cavalry Squadron is a combat support unit that extends support in the implementation of Internal Peace and Security Operations in the area of operations of the Philippine Army’s primary infantry unit to win the peace and keep an environment conducive to sustainable development.

“The discipline, dedication and cooperation of every member of your squadron completed the successful action and heavy fire support during the time of exigency and other ground operations,” Barrientos announced.

It can be recalled that one of the regiment’s greatest achievements was the success of the Zamboanga operation in September 2013 where they have shown their extreme act of bravery and courage. This resulted to the rescue of more than 100 hostages and the neutralization of some 500 rebels during the siege.

Barrientos said the 1CAV provides strong deterrence against armed elements which hinder peace and security in the division’s area of responsibility.

“I encourage each and every member of 1CAV to move forward with the people. Let us continue to be united to overcome every obstacle that stands in the way towards peace, security and development,” Barrientos added.

The good general likewise urged the 1CAV to maintain their good record and surpass their previous achievements.

Meanwhile, LtCol. Charlemange F. Batayola, Jr. congratulated the officers and enlisted men for another year of an outstanding performance.

“My heartfelt congratulations to all Tagapanguna troopers as I commend each one for a job well done for the past years,” Batayola said.

Batayola also acknowledged the meaningful involvement and active participation of key stakeholders in the implementation of the Internal Peace and Security Plan (IPSP) “Bayanihan” campaign of the AFP.

“I congratulate most of all our local government units and all the peace and development stakeholders and partners under the 1CAV area of operations for your active support. We could not have done this without you,” Batayola concluded.

Pagadian prisoners take skills training

Source: http://thestandard.com.ph/news/-provinces/214449/pagadian-prisoners-take-skills-training.html
Monday, August 29, 2016

By A. Perez Rimando

To make them more productive and useful after serving their prison terms, close to 200 inmates of the Pagadian City jail started a one-month skills training conducted by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Pagadian City Jail facility of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, a jail officer said.

BJMP regional director Arnulfo Obias said the training focused on house electrical installation, cell phone repair, computer machine/laptop repair, radio and television maintenance, and refrigeration technology.

Obias said their experience “will provide the beneficiary-inmates easy access to local jobs or self-employment to start a new life after they will have completed their detention.”

High on drugs, man attacks 5 people in Zamboanga

Source: http://mindanaoexaminer.com/high-on-drugs-man-attacks-5-people-in-zamboanga/
Sunday, August 28, 2016

(Mindanao Examiner)

PAGADIAN CITY – Police fatally a man – believed to be high in drugs – after he attacked and wounded 5 people, including a seven-year old girl, with swords in Zamboanga del Sur province in southern Philippines.

Police tried to negotiate peacefully with Jose Carreon to surrender, but he charged the officers like a raging bull and was eventually shot after he hacked one of them in Silangit village in Molave town on Thursday afternoon.

All the injured victims were rushed to hospital. The girl was hacked in the head, face and hands. It was not immediately known what drove the 37-year old Carreon to attack his victims, but initial police report said the man, a farmer, was probably high on drugs.

Police also brought Carreon to the hospital, but doctors said he was already dead when he reached there.

War on drugs

President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to continue his war against illegal drugs despite mounting criticisms from various human rights organizations and even lawmakers, who threatened to unmask his alleged link to extrajudicial killings of people involved in the nefarious activities in the Philippines.

Among those who constantly criticized Duterte, a lawyer and former prosecutor in Davao City, is Senator Leila de Lima, who was Justice Secretary during the previous Aquino administration; and the international Human Rights Watch.

Nearly 2,000 suspected drug users and dealers had been killed since Duterte assumed the presidency, but many of the murders had been largely attributed by the police to vigilante groups.

But De Lima and human rights organizations insist that police were behind the spate of killings, an accusation strongly denied by the country’s police chief Ronaldo dela Rosa, who openly expressed his frustrations over the allegations during a senate investigation on extrajudicial killings.

Policemen had killed armed drug dealers during legitimate operations to protect their lives, according to Dela Rosa. “We are just doing our jobs here,” he said.

Dela Rosa, who once served Duterte when he was mayor in Davao City, also vowed to continue the war against illegal drugs and criminals.

Because of Duterte’s iron-fist policy in fighting the drug menace, tens of thousands of drug users and traffickers surrendered to the police, including mayors and judges he accused as being involved in illegal drug trades.

Duterte also accused De Lima of taking bribes from drug lords, but she denied the allegations and said the president is destroying her reputation in an effort to derail her investigation into extrajudicial killings perpetrated by the police. Majority of the Filipinos are supporting Duterte’s war and the police forces in fighting illegal drugs.

Pagadian City LGU employs 35 PWDs

Source: http://thestandard.com.ph/news/-provinces/214152/pagadian-city-lgu-employs-35-pwds.html
Saturday, August 27, 2016

By A. Perez Rimando

PAGADIAN CITY—The city government has continued to provide work to not a few of its persons with disability or PWDs with appropriate skills, a city social worker said.

Social Welfare and Development Officer Saramea Ubpon, the city focal person for PWDs, said Mayor Romeo Pulmones has long been implementing Republic Act 9442, the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability, “to make them more useful to the community.”

Ubpon said Mayor Pulmones, from the time he was vice mayor to his third term as city executive, kept hiring at least 35 local PWDs—15 of them holding permanent items and the rest as casuals whose appointments are renewed annually—in various local government offices where their skills can be employed.

The CSWDO identified two of the city hall-employed PWDs as Evelyn Bunsucan, who walks with the aid of crutches, and Edna Laquitao-Dopio, a victim of polio.

Bunsucan, 48, is permanently hired at the City Treasurer’s Office, while Dopio, 43, is a casual clerk detailed at the Public Employment Service Office (Peso) since 1983.

Bunsucan, Dopio and the other locally hired PWDs strongly commended Pulmones for accommodating qualified though physically incapacitated individuals as workers in Pagadian which they describe as a ”city with a humanitarian heart for its disabled residents.”

Local Peso chief Virginia Almirol said she was impressed with the work ethic of Dopio whom she described “as an efficient and productive employee who works with minimal supervision and knows how to entertain clients well.”

Almirol added she will later ask Pulmones to make Dopio a permanent employee as “she is an asset to the local government.”

10 people rescued from KTV Bar

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/local-news/2016/08/25/10-people-rescued-ktv-bar-493646
Friday, August 26, 2016

By Bong Garcia

THE local police in coordination with the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO) have rescued 10 people, including four children, from two night establishments in Zamboanga City.

The Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) reported that they were rescued around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 24, when the Women and Children Protection Desk (WCPD) and CSWDO personnel went to a KTV Bar to locate a teenage girl from Pagadian City hired to work as Guest Relation Officer (GRO).

The police reported that the teenage girl was not around when the WCPD and CSWDO personnel arrived at the KTV Bar but they were able to rescue four mothers together with their children.

The ZCPO identified those rescued as the following: Jaycel Talib and her four-year-old son, Margie Atizon with nine-year-old son, Felme Alicer with four-year-old daughter and Juvie Aris and her two-year-old son.

Talib and Aris are from Pagadian City, the capital of Zamboanga del Sur while Atizon and Alicer are from Zamboanga City.

The ZCPO said the WCPD and CSWDO personnel were also able to rescue two girls, aged 16 and 17, working as GROs in the same KTV Bar.

One of the two is from Pagadian City while the other one from Tukuran, Zamboanga del Sur.

The rescued women and their children including the two teenage girls were turned over to the custody of the social welfare department.

Education comes to the indigenous peoples of Mindanao

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=1&rid=916590
Thursday, August 25, 2016

(PNA), FPV/AA/LTA/PND/EBP

MANILA (PNA) -- Fulfilling his promise of regional development in Mindanao, President Rodrigo Duterte through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Department of Education (DepEd) will build 251 schools — 75 in the Caraga region, 69 in the Davao region, 50 in Socsargen, 39 in Northern Mindanao and Zamboanga Peninsula with 18.

The DSWD will fund the projects while the DepEd will provide a total of 583 teachers.

In keeping with the preservation of the rich and varied cultures of Mindanao, the architectural designs of the schools will be identified by the cultural preference of the community they are in. The indigenous people (IP) of the region are after all, “the living expressions of our tradition and culture” according to DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones.

An IP education office will also be re-established to accommodate concerns regarding these schools and give special attention to IP education.

President Duterte has always been a champion for the marginalized sector of society. Duterte is determined to bring progress to the Mindanao region not only through peace and order, rural and regional development but also by educating its youth.

Canada’s TVI eyes 2016 IPO

Source: http://thestandard.com.ph/business/214053/canada-s-tvi-eyes-2016-ipo.html
Wednesday, August 24, 2016

By Jenniffer B. Austria

TVI Pacific Inc. of Canada said it may pursue a planned P1.51-billion initial public offering for local unit TVI Resources Development Corp. in the second half of 2016.

TVI Pacific said in a recent corporate presentation the Philippine IPO would give the company an opportunity to raise funds to finance acquisition and development activities.

“The PSE (Philippine Stock Exchange) listing will allow TVI Pacific to monetize portions of its TVIRD holdings which will represent an ongoing source of non-dilutive funding during a time when capital is difficult to raise for new project acquisition and development activities,” TVIRD said.

The listing will also significantly enhance TVI Pacific’s investment value. TVI Pacific holds a 30.66-percent interest in TVIRD.

TVIRD originally planned to hold its maiden share offering in 2015. The company decided to defer it to 2016 because of the delay in securing regulatory approvals and volatile market conditions.

Latest preliminary registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed that TVIRD planned to sell 408 million shares consisting of 272.02 million in primary shares and 136 million in secondary shares at an offering price of up to P3.71 apiece.

The shares represent 15 percent of the outstanding common stocks of the company after the IPO.

The company plans to use proceeds from the fund raising activity to finance certain capital expenditures, inlcuding the construction, development and operation of TVIRD’s Balabag Gold-Silver Project in Zamboanga del Sur.

BDO Capital & Investment Corp. is the underwriter for TVIRD’s IPO.

TVIRD owns a 100-percent interest in a mineral production sharing agreement covering 4,779 hectares on the Balabag gold and silver project in Canatuan, Zamboanga del Sur.

It also owns a 60-percent stake in a joint venture company that operates a nickel mine in Tubay, Agusan del Norte.

Meanwhile, TVI Pacific said TVIRD was considering the acquiisition or formation of joint ventures on resource deposits that may have a modest initial resource size but with the potential for significant resource growth.

DAR-IX holds Regional Farmers’ Forum in Pagadian City

Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1351471850800/dar-ix-holds-regional-farmers-forum-in-pagadian-city
Tuesday, August 23, 2016

By Claro A. Lanipa (ALT/CAL/PIA9-Zamboanga del Sur)

PAGADIAN CITY, 23 Aug (PIA) – The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Region 9 conducted a Regional Farmers’ Forum which was capped with a fellowship night on August 18 at the Subanen Hall, Provincial Government Complex, Dao, this city.

With the theme “Pagyamanin ang lupang iginawad, upang ang buhay ay umunlad,” the forum is aimed to strengthen DAR’s partnership and coordination with the local government units (LGUs), national government agencies (NGAs), private sectors, civil society organizations and stakeholders in the farming industry.

Further, it targets to more vigorously implement and hasten the programs and projects for the assisted Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations (ARBOs) to enhance their agricultural enterprise development.

In his keynote speech, USec. Marcos Risonar said 16 million Filipinos voted for President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. “These people pinned their hope that this man will liberate the country from the clutches of corruption, drug addiction, insurgency and mass poverty. You and me took part in that exercise. You and me will see to it that real change will come.”

“This change would mean that we shall take part in the devolution to change the government and its practices,” he further said.

“The Duterte administration could not do it alone. He needs the support of the 16 million people who put him to office. What then is the relevance of agrarian reform and its accompanying programs and activities in the devolution that is forthcoming?” Risonar asked.

“We shall be part of the delivery of social justice by way of land reform and upliftment of the marginalized farmers. We shall no longer rely on merely distributing lands. We shall move forward and step out of the traditional box,” Risonar emphasized.

“While it is true that giving lands to the landless will improve his economic status, yet, it is a truism that land alone is not enough,” he added.

Usec Risomar lauded DAR-9 headed by Regional Director Felix B. Aguhob for the initiative in undertaking programs and activities to help agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) which are now bearing fruit. DAR has to go further so that the lowly farmer can take off, and by himself cut his bondage to the soil.

He underscored the increased income of farmers with the introduction of several income-generating activities which liberated them from dependence on capitalist or financiers.

Over 200 farmers, DAR officials and employees from the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Sur including Zamboanga City and Basilan, together with partner agencies and other stakeholders attended the forum.

32 SLPAs receive funding from DSWD

Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1351471506902/32-slpas-receive-funding-from-dswd-
Monday, August 22, 2016

By Claro A. Lanipa (ALT/CAL/PIA9-Zamboanga del Sur)

PAGADIAN CITY (PIA) – A total of 32 enterprises and projects under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program have been implemented through the different Sustainable Livelihood Program Associations (SLPAs) in the city.

SLP Project Development Officer Zandra A. Quirante reported during the City Inter-Agency Committee meeting held on Monday, August 15, 2016 at the Executive Function Hall, the amount of P12,223,000 has already been released to these associations, of which 10 were newly funded.

“These SLPAs consist of 1,615 Pantawid beneficiaries and 125 non-Pantawid members,” Quirante said.

Moreover, another set of 20 SLPAs with over 1,500 members are still on the process and are scheduled for funding by the program amounting to P9,914,000, she added.

Meanwhile, under the Pantawid conditional cash grants for the period February to March this year, a total amount of P26,287,900 was allocated for the 11,777 target beneficiaries of the city. Of this target beneficiaries, only 11,459 or 97.30 percent were paid in the amount of P25,776,300 and the remaining 318 which is 2.54 percent were unpaid in the amount of P272,500.

For April to May, there were 11,512 qualified beneficiaries with a total allocation of P11,300,000, but only 11,220 beneficiaries were given their grant amounting to P11,027,500 or 97.46 percent and 292 of them remain unclaimed or unpaid.

Per evaluation made by the implementing agency, these beneficiaries did not receive their grants due to the following reasons; they are nowhere to be found, transfer of residence, no eligible beneficiaries, change of grantee, attended other personal matters among others, the report said.

These entrepreneurs were engaged mostly on consumers market and micro credit, hog and agriculture production and several others.

Gang leader behind Aussie kidnapping arrested in Zamboanga

Source: http://mindanaoexaminer.com/gang-leader-behind-aussie-kidnapping-arrested-in-zamboanga/
Sunday, August 21, 2016 2:57 pm

(Mindanao Examiner)

PAGADIAN CITY – Philippine authorities have arrested a sub-leader of gang linked to the 2011 kidnapping of Australian adventurer Warren Rodwell in the southern province of Zamboanga Sibugay, police said Sunday.

Police said Hasim Calon alias Husien, who belongs to the kidnap-for-ransom group of Barahama Alih, was arrested by security forces over the weekend in his hideout in Tenan village in Ipil town.

“Hasim Calon was involved in several kidnapping incidents in the province, particularly the abduction of Joel Indino in Ipil on January 29, 2011 and Richard Warren Rodwell, an Australian national who was abducted in December 2011,” said Superintendent Rogelio Alabata, a regional police spokesman.

He said policemen, backed by army soldiers, who took part in the operation, seized crystal meth from Calon, who is also a notorious drug dealer in the province. Calon’s group also has links with the Abu Sayyaf and other rebel groups in the southern region.

Just early this year, police forces killed Waning Abdulsalam – who was a former leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front – in a fire fight in the village of Singkilon in the town of Naga in Zamboanga Sibugay.

Abdulsalam was one of the most wanted criminals in southern Philippines and connected also to the Abu Sayyaf. He was linked to the kidnappings of Rodwell, and Irish missionary Michael Sinnott in October 12, 2009 in Pagadian City, Italian Catholic priest Giancarlo Bossi in Zamboanga del Sur’s Payao town in June 10, 2007.

In 2012, security forces also raided Abdulsalam’s hideout in Naga and captured three of his followers following a clash in the village of Mamagon.

Last year, a Filipino policeman SPO2 Jun Malban alias Michael Zoo, also tagged as involved in Rodwell’s kidnapping was arrested in Lahad Datu in Malaysia’s eastern state of Sabah where he fled after being linked by authorities to the crime.

Rodwell, a former soldier in the Australian army, was kidnapped by gunmen who posed as policemen from his seaside house in Ipil town and freed on March 2013 after his Filipino wife Miraflor Gutang paid $94,000 ransom to the Abu Sayyaf, which originally demanded $2 million.

Gunmen rob passenger bus, kill driver in Zamboanga del Sur

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=913871
Saturday, August 20, 2016

(PNA), FPV/EB/SSC

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (PNA) -– Police are hunting for seven men behind the PHP300,000 robbery of a passenger bus and the killing of its driver in Dinas town, Zamboanga del Sur early Sunday.

Provincial police director, Sr. Supt. Michael Nicolas, has directed the police of Dimataling, Tabina, San Pablo, Pitogo and San Miguel to assist the Dinas police in tracking down the men.

The Baganian Transit, driven by 59-year-old Diosdado Ritisa, was traveling to Pagadian City from Tabina town when it was waylaid by the seven men in Barangay Proper Dimaya in Dinas at about 7 a.m. Sunday.

One of the men shot Ritisa in the head after all passengers were ordered to disembark from the bus.

The men carted away PHP300,000 in cash, jewelry and mobile phones and fled towards the river in Sitio Balot, Barangay Binuatan in Dinas. (PNA) CVL/TPGJR/HIROHITO D. CADION

www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&nid=2&rid=913943 Mayor Osmena expands city’s health program to cover maintenance medicines, others

CEBU CITY, Aug. 15 (PNA) -- Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmena has issued Executive Order No. 2 (EO2) expanding the city government’s health program to cover the maintenance medicines of beneficiaries.

The City Hospitalization and Medicine Program (Champ), which covers the financial assistance for the medical and hospital expenses of city residents, will now include the daily maintenance medicines for hypertension, diabetes and arthritis, among others.

The maintenance medicines will be given to permanent residents who are diagnosed with a medical condition and were prescribed medicines by a government physician for outpatients or by the attending physicians for the admitted patients.

Osmeña also included in the Champ responsibilities the giving of Philhealth insurance to indigent residents.

In 2015, the City enrolled 10,000 residents, and it continues to pay for their annual premium.

The EO2 said the city’s Department of Social Welfare Services (DSWS) will pre-qualify all those enrolled in Philhealth and will facilitate the documentation and eventual issuance of the Philhealth cards.

Osmeña also included the city’s elected officials, department heads and other key personnel of the Cebu City Hall in the Philhealth coverage.

Osmeña also seeks to shoulder the laboratory and diagnostic procedures and other medical services for outpatients and admitted patients.

He wants the city to give one dose of anti-cervical cancer vaccine to city employees and barangay officials and two free anti-rabies vaccines for animal bite victims.

Osmena also included in the Champ program the giving of medical devices such as orthopaedic steel implants, hearing aids, and other accessories for outpatient and admitted patients.

Region 9 has more teachers than NZ

Source: http://thestandard.com.ph/news/-provinces/213693/region-9-has-more-teachers-than-nz.html
Friday, August 19, 2016 12:01 am

By A. Perez Rimando

PAGADIAN CITY—Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9) has more public elementary and secondary school teachers than New Zealand, newly retired Department of Education Region 9 Director Walter Albos said.

Albos, who recently toured NZ with a group of Filipino field school executives, said it has only about 25,000 public school mentors compared to the nearly 40,000 tutors of Region 9, that comprises the schools divisions of Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga del Norte, Dipolog City, Pagadian City, Isabela City and Dapitan City.

He noted that each NZ school is decentrally governed by a local board of trustees that implements the national government’s educational program from pre-school to Level 1 (elementary) and Level 2 (secondary).

NZ’s public education, Albos said, is free and compulsory with students not paying even miscellaneous fees for Parent-Teacher Associations, Red Cross, Boy and Girl Scouts, schools’ light and water consumption, anti-TB and others that Filipino parents have to shoulder.

School participation in that Asian country is 100 percent as parents who do not send their children to learning centers are punished by the state; hence, school dropouts are unheard of.

The shortage of Philippine schools and teachers results in crowded classrooms. A NZ class enrolls a maximum of 20 pupils who perform most of the class activities—with the teacher’s attention focused mainly on management and supervision.

In a Philippine classroom, Albos said, a Filipino teacher does almost all the talking with the pupils virtually doing nothing but listen.

He observed that NZ instruction “is very informal with every classroom having a socialized atmosphere where children usually sit or squat on the floor. Classroom walls are full of colorful instructional devices and reading materials are displayed on side shelves.

Albos noted that the NZ government provides students with free school buses service which bring them to school in the morning and return them to their homes after classes.

The Zamboangueño educator also noted that NZ local streets, complete with electronic gadgets, have virtually no policemen even as motorists are so disciplined they strictly follow traffic rules. It has more cattle and sheep than people and boasts of a virtually zero crime rate.

Police, PDEA file charges against 14 persons arrested in anti-drug operations in Zamboanga del Sur

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=914764
Thursday, August 18, 2016

(PNA), LAP/TPGJR/HIROHITO D. CADION

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur (PNA) -– The police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Monday filed charges before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office against 14 persons, 13 of whom were arrested recently in two anti-drug operations in the nearby island town of Margosatubig.

Senior Supt. Michael Nicolas, provincial police director, on Wednesday told the Philippines News Agency that a case for illegal possession of firearms and explosive was also filed against two of the 14 suspects aside for violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Charged were the following: Faisal Maito, No. 7 in the drug watch list; Cristopher Moneral; Gomer Alpha; Arwan Isnain; Ruel Apoa; Elmar Calingacion; Acmad Quiazae; Harris Baihakki; Reniel Ranque; Roberto Ponlaroche; Rey Natividad; Alo Alpha; Faruk Kula and Halid Kula.

Nicolas said that except for Halid Kula, all the other suspects were arrested in Sitio Luguimit, Barangay Poblacion, Margosatubig.

He said confiscated from the suspects’ possession were four heat-sealed plastic sachets of methamphetamine hydrochloride locally known as "shabu" and other illegal drug paraphernalia.

He said Kula was arrested in Purok San Francisco, Barangay Igat, Margosatubig.

Nicolas said Kula’s father, Faruk, who was the target of the anti-drug operation, was at large since he was not around when the operatives arrived.

He said the raiding team confiscated from the residence of Kula a small-sized packed of shabu, a hand grenade, seven improvised dynamites, an improvised handgun and two homemade shotguns locally known as “sumpak.”

He said a case of illegal possession of firearms and explosives was also filed against the Kulas aside from violation of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Nicolas disclosed that anti-drug operations were carried by a joint team of policemen, PDEA operatives, Coast Guard personnel and soldiers.

PRO-9 policemen kill 1, arrest 2 pushers in continuous anti-drug campaign

Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=914765
Wednesday, August 17, 2016

(PNA), LAP/TPGJR/HIROHITO D. CADION

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Aug. 17 (PNA) -- A known drug pusher was killed in a shootout while two others were arrested as government authorities continue the conduct of anti-drug operations in the region.

Killed was Nomer Madamba, a drug surrenderee. Arrested were Roland Gahusta, 47, and Rolan Espinosa.

Chief Supt. Billy Beltran, Police Regional Office-9 (PRO-9) director, said Madamba was killed in a shotout around 6:45 p.m. Tuesday in Sitio Mataga, Barangay Depase, Bayog, Zamboanga del Sur.

Beltran said the shootout ensued when Madamba pulled his caliber .45 pistol and open fire but missed his target while he was about to be cornered in an anti-drug operation.

He said Madamba surrendered on July 6 and pledged to live a new life but was found to have continuously engaged in the trade of illegal drugs.

He said Gahusta was arrested in an intelligence-driven manhunt operation around 8:17 p.m. Tuesday in Barangay Sta. Clara, Naga, Zamboanga Sibugay.

He said Gahusta is listed as the number four in the drug watch list of the police in Buug, Zamboanga Sibugay.

Espinosa was arrested in an anti-drug operation around 8:45 p.m. Tuesday in Barangay Ayala, this city.

Confiscated from his possession were three small sachets of methamphetamine hydrochloride locally known as shabu, marked money and other prohibited dug paraphernalia.

Beltran said Espinosa have surrendered earlier like Madamba but continued to engaged in the trade of prohibited drugs. (PNA) BNB/TPGJR

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=&nid=2&rid=914764 Police, PDEA file charges against 14 persons arrested in anti-drug operations in Zamboanga del Sur

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Aug. 17 (PNA) -– The police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) on Monday filed charges before the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office against 14 persons, 13 of whom were arrested recently in two anti-drug operations in the nearby island town of Margosatubig.