Antique’s PDRRMC, region’s No. 1, vies for the national

The Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) of the Province of Antique is again topping the region and a finalist in the national search for this year’s Gawad Kalasag Award.

The Gawad Kalasag Award is given by the Office of the President for the barangay/municipality/city/province for having the most exemplary Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Plan. The search is a collaborative effort of various offices and agencies such as the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Department of Education, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Fire Protection and Philippine National Red Cross. The Office of the Civil Defense serves as the secretariat. The local DRRMCs are evaluated based on the following criteria: mitigation, preparedness, response, rehabilitation, plans and projects, good practices, risk vulnerability reduction and actual operation.   

After an evaluation conducted by the said group of agencies, Antique was adjudged as the best in Region VI, thereby making Antique’s PDRRMC an official entry of the region in the national level.           

For five years, Antique became finalist in the search and in 2009 the province garnered 2nd place in the national level apart from receiving 7 awards in different categories.

“Despite the problems encountered by the council especially the lack of high technology equipment the province still excel in the search because we are using our indigenous and available materials around us,” says Mr. Broderick Train an Executive Officer – Designate of the Antique PDRRMC.

Train added that the success of the PDRRMC can be attributed to the agencies composing the council and the unwavering support of Gov. Exequiel Javier and other local officials in PDRRMC-related activities and initiatives.        

Meanwhile, the local PDRRMC is strengthening its community-based program dubbed as “Uligmat Antique” with the goal to establish a disaster resilient community in the province

Antique’s malnutrition rate decreases

San Jose, Antique – Malnutrition rate in the province has decreased from 12.78% last year to 10.32% this year according to the report of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO).

Gov. Exequiel B. Javier when informed of the latest malnutrition status of the province was overjoyed. “Mayad nga result dya kang atun kampanya sa malnutrisyon. This is a sign that we are working to remove the stigma of being number 1 in region VI and number 2 in the country. Nalipay gid ako sa dya nga development.”

It would be recalled that upon knowing that Antique was ranked number 2 in the country and number 1 in Region VI with high incidence of malnutrition, Gov. Javier immediately called health sectors in the province to give due attention to this problem.

As such, the provincial government has allotted P5 M for malnutrition rehabilitation for 2011. The Governor is optimistic that at the end of his first term Antique will be erased from the list of provinces with the high incidence of malnutrition.

The governor added that despite the decrease, the provincial government of Antique will never stop in its campaign to combat malnutrition in the province, instead will double its effort until this problem is totally solved.

Provincial Nutrition Action Officer Nida Pallon said that the decrease in malnutrition cases is due to the seriousness of Gov. Javier and other government officials in the campaign to lessen if not eliminate malnutrition in Antique

She further that the decrease of 2.46% means that the government and other sectors’ intervention to combat malnutrition in the province is effective.

Among the interventions that are being initiated by the government and NGOs is the series of feeding programs among LGU’s which has the highest prevalence of malnutrition. For instance, in Sibalom and Hamtic the Positive Deviance Heart Approach was introduced. This is a 12-day feeding on site (in the Barangay Nutrition Center) and 12-day feeding at home. During the feeding at home, the mother is observed and evaluated by the Barangay Health Workers. Apart from the feeding, the parents especially the mothers are taught of Basic Nutrition. In Tobias Fornier, the DOST-PINOY approach was pioneered wherein malnourished children are fed by ready mixed food from the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) in 120 days. The beneficiaries of the feeding programs are the severe underweighted and the underweighted child ages 6-35 months. The programs are being replicated in other towns in the province.        

The municipality of Caluya which was ranked number 2 in Antique for having the highest number of malnourished children in 2010 shows a significant decrease this year. Almost ½ of the malnutrition cases was reduced compare last year. While Hamtic, despite interventions of NGOs and government, the incidence increased this year, making the town number 1 for having the highest prevalence of malnutrition. The increase of the malnutrition rate in Hamtic, according to Pallon, can be attributed to poverty which results to the failure of the parents to feed nutritious food to their children after the feeding by the benefactor was completed on site.

In the recent interview with Provincial Health Officer Dr. Ric Noel Naciongayo, he said that solving malnutrition in Antique is a big challenge by which every Antiqueño should participate and cooperate. He further that the government cannot solve it alone, it needs help from other sectors in the community. 

2 of the 4 nominees for Ombudsman post are Antiqueños

San Jose, Antique – This might come as a surprise but Justice Undersecretary Leah Tanodra-Armamento and Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) Commissioner Gerard Mosquera have Antiqueño blood in their veins.

Armamento hails from the town of Sibalom while Mosquera traces his roots to Culasi. Prior to her appointment as USEC in DOJ by Pres. Aquino, Armamento was a DOJ Assistant Chief State Prosecutor and a member of the peace process team of the government. Meanwhile, Mosquera had a brief stint as Director in the Office of the Ombudsman, and has served as Chief of Party of the United States Agency for Int ernational Development (USAID)’s anti-corruption program in Timor-Leste and played a key role in the creation and organization of East Timor’s first Anti-Corruption Commission. Both, Armamento and Mosquera, graduated from the Ateneo Law School – and have been students of Antique Governor Exequiel B. Javier.

On a phone interview with Javier, he said that both were excellent students. “I am happy that those I taught in Ateneo are becoming successful.”

He added that they are good, honest and proven to have integrity and vouched for their capacity that any one of them can help improve the justice system and the conviction rate of the Ombudsman against corrupt government officials and employees.

“As an Antiqueño I am happy for their nomination,” Javier concluded.

When asked about her nomination, Armamento replied “Daw bukun garing ti husto ang timing nga mahambal ako parte kari-a hay for consideration pa ni president (Benigno Aquino III).”

The two were shortlisted, together with retired SC Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales and former Justice Secretary Artemio Tuquero, by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) who they will recommend to President Benigno Aquino III to succeed Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez who resigned on May 6, 2011.

The four contenders received five votes each from eight-member JBC headed by Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Renato Corona.

The council’s ex-officio members are Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Sen. Francis Escudero, Senate justice committee chairman; and Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., House justice committee chairman. Retired Justice Regino Hermosisima Jr. (SC representative), Justice Aurora Santiago Lagman(private-sector representative), lawyer Ma. Milagros Fernan-Cayosa (Integrated Bar of the Philippines representative) and lawyer Jose Mejia (academe representative) are among the JBC’s regular members.

A sitting president is mandated by the 1987 Constitution to appoint the Ombudsman only from the shortlist prepared by the JBC. President Aquino has until August 4 — 90 days after the position was vacated — to name Gutierrez’s replacement.

The JBC is the constitutional body tasked to scrutinize, screen, and recommend to the President nominees to the vacancies in the judiciary and to nominees to the positions of Ombudsman and deputy Ombudsman.

The other 22 candidates who vied for the Ombudsman post were Alfredo Agawa, retired Judge; Philip Aguinaldo, Judge; Pelagio Apostol, former deputy Ombudsman for Visayas; Procopio Beltran Jr., lawyer; Emmanuel Bonoan, lawyer; Jose Calida, former Justice undersecretary; Howard Calleja, lawyer for suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Zaldy Ampatuan; Felix Carao, lawyer; Orlando Casimiro, acting Ombudsman; Jose Manuel Diokno, national chair of the Free Legal Assistance Group and De La Salle University College of Law dean; Donato Faylona, lawyer; Ernesto Francisco, advocacy lawyer; Raymundo Francisco, lawyer; Catalino Generillo Jr., lawyer; Portia Hormachuelos, Court of Appeals associate justice; Francis Jardeleza, lawyer; Marlon Manuel, public interest lawyer and head of the Alternative Law Groups; Divinagracia Ongkeko, judge; Renan Ramos, lawyer; Roy Seneres, former Ambassador and National Labor Relations Commission chair; and Florencio Villarin, lawyer.

Center for Child Dev’t up soon in Antique

SAN JOSE, Anti-que – A National Child Development Center will soon rise in San Jose de Buenavista with the signing of memorandum of agreement by Mayor Rony L. Molina for LGU San Jose, Dr. Myrna S. Castillo of DepEd- Antique and Executive Director D. Teresita G. Inciong for Early Childhood Care and Development Council.

The establishment of the NCDC is pursuant to the thrust of the national government to promote the optimum growth and development of Filipino children ages 0 - 6 years old.

The center will serve as a laboratory for different modes of delivery of center-based programs of Early Childhood Care and Development.

It will also be a center for the smooth transition of children from early learning – from kindergarten to primary education.

The center will be constructed on a 200 square-meter lot provided by DepEd within the identified school Canuto Pefianco, Sr. Elementary School in Barangay Madrangca.

The ECCDC, on the other hand, will be responsible for the P2.2 million cost of construction of the center while LGU San Jose will finance the construction of the perimeter fence and the establishment of a playground. – SJDB/JCM/MLG/PIA6 Antique

In FocusSTL temporarily stopped?

STL TEMPO-rary stopped? After a series of expose’ by the local media here, the operation of the illegal number game Small town Lottery (STL) was temporarily stopped.  As earlier reported, STL operates in the towns of Sibalom, San Jose and Hamtic.  It was not known who were behind in the operation of said illegal numbers game.  During the inquiry of Sangguniang Panlalawigan last week on STL operation, Sibalom chief of police Insp. Jeremy Belo told the August Body that there is no operation of STL in his area of jurisdiction but results of STL draw were proliferating in the said municipality.

On the part of San Jose, chief of police Chief Inspector Gilbert T. Gorero told the Sangguniang Panlalawigan that there were reports of STL operation but they could not ascertain who were the operators and they find it difficult to arrest the ‘corridors" because they operate in a guerilla manner.

Police Provincial Director Senior Supt. Ruperto Floro ordered his chiefs of police province wide to conduct operation to stop the STL operation.

In an interview over radio station HOT FM-106.9, Floro said that when he received information that a bookie for STL (Small Town Lottery) operated in some barangays in the capital town of San Jose and in the adjacent town of Sibalom, he immediately ordered his intelligence personnel to verify the reports and make arrests. He warned his men that he would apply the "One-Strike" policy in illegal gambling activities. 

STL operations will only be allowed if the local government unit concerned will allow it; this is according to Secretary Jessie Robredo of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG).

Antique Governor Exequiel B. Javier, on the other hand, remains steadfast in his stance against all forms of gambling, we are hoping that STL operations will be permanently stopped.-oOo-

"BINGO MILLIONS" OPERATES IN ANTIQUE?  After the controversial operation of Small Town Lottery (STL) comes now the operation of Bingo Millions. This was again questioned by the local media because, according to them, the operation of Bingo Millions is illegal. It has no franchise from Philippine Amusement Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR).  PAGCOR is a government–sanctioned number games that offers millions of pesos to the winning bettors.  PAGCOR issued a franchise to Commet Management Corporation to operate all over the country.

According to a source, the operation of Bingo Millions is being operated by private individuals here with bet collectors and dealers/players in the various municipalities of this province.

It has no betting stations as what the PAGCOR requires the franchisee to operate. According to reports, Bingo Millions was approved by PAGCOR in February 2010 and it has been operating in Iloilo, Negros Oriental, Southern Leyte, Eastern Samar and Metro Manila. It never mentioned the province of Antique. Unless they have the documents to show that they have the franchise and the betting stations set up here, then we believed that is legal.  They should set up first the mechanism before they operate the Bingo Millions. The Sangguniang Panlalawigan should also conduct an inquiry on this operation because Bingo Millions is operating in the province in a guerilla type. Where did the bettors buy their tickets? Who are those operators?  The public should know?

STATE OF THE NATION PNoy vows to end corruption, picks Morales as Ombudsman

By SAMMY JULIAN, Manila News Bureau Chief FRANCO JOSE BAROÑA, Malacañang Reporter MANILA – “When the new Ombudsman takes office, we will have an honest-to-goodness anti-corruption office, not one that condones corruption and abuses in government,” said President Benigno Aquino III in his second State of the Nation Address (SONA). He announced the appointment of retired Supreme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales as the new Ombudsman. He expects that this year, “we will have filed our first major case against the corrupt and their accomplices. And these will be real cases, with strong evidence and clear testimonies which will lead to the punishment of the guilty.” Yet again, Aquino used wang-wang as a fitting symbol of change from the culture of corruption “not just in our streets, but even in our collective attitude.” “Over the years, the wang-wang had come to symbolize abuse of authority,” he said in his speech delivered entirely in Filipino. “It was routinely used by public officials to violate traffic laws, inconveniencing ordinary motorists – as if only the time of the powerful few, and no one else’s, mattered. Instead of behaving like public servants, they acted like kings.” “Do you want the corrupt held accountable? So do I. Do you want to see the end of wang-wang both on the streets and the sense of entitlement that has led to the abuse that we have lived with for so long? So do I,” the President said. It was Carpio-Morales who administered the oath of office to Aquino when he took over the presidency on June 30, 2010. Carpio-Morales will serve a full seven-year term at the Office of the Ombudsman. She takes over the post vacated by Merceditas Gutierrez who resigned after the House of Representatives impeached her. Aquino enumerated the strides his government made in various fields. Among these were reviving investor confidence, especially in the energy sector (140 companies are ready to participate in the exploration and strengthening of oil and natural gas resources); employing zero-based budgeting to end wasteful programs; and stopping excessive rice importation. He said his administration has to put an end to “the culture of entitlement, to wang-wang…along our roads, in government, in our society as a whole…This will bring confidence that will attract business; this will also ensure that the people’s money is put in its rightful place.” “Funding for infrastructure will secure the sustained growth of the economy, which will then give rise to jobs, and public service that guarantees that no one will be left behind. More opportunities for livelihood will be opened by tourism; the strengthening of our agriculture sector will ensure that every Filipino will have food on his table. We will invest on those who were once neglected. All this will create a cycle wherein all available jobs are filled, and where businesses flourish through the empowerment of their,” the President said. President Aquino also boasted that the once low credit ratings of the country have now been upgraded by Moody’s, Standard and Poors, Fitch, and Japan Credit Ratings Agency “in recognition of our prudent use of funds and creative financial management.” “These improved credit ratings mean lower interest on our debts. Our innovative fiscal approach has saved taxpayers P23 billion in the first four months of this year. This is enough to cover the P2.3 million conditional cash transfer beneficiaries for the entire year,” Aquino stressed. He pointed out that in the nine and a half years before he was elected into office, the country’s credit rating was upgraded only once, and downgraded six times by different credit ratings agencies. “Compare this to the four upgrades we have achieved in the single year we have been in office,” President Aquino declared. “This was no small feat, considering that the upgrades came after ratings agencies have grown considerably more conservative in their assessments, especially in the wake of criticism they received after the recent American financial crisis.” Aquino boasted of a lower self-rated hunger rating, which decreased to 15.1 percent this year from 20.5 percent last year, based on figures from pollster Social Weather Stations (SWS). Filipinos are now finding more jobs in the domestic market and slowly letting go of their ambition to find employment abroad, he said. Aquino also cited the 0.8 percentage-point drop in the unemployment rate in April from a high of eight percent in 2010. The President, however, was conscious that despite the gains in local employment, the government cannot afford to rest on its laurels. This problem is compounded by “jobs mismatch” that continues to hound local industries every year, Aquino said. Citing statistics from Philjobnet, Aquino said some 50,000 jobs remain unfilled every month because the skills of the graduates being produced each year do not match the requirements of the industries. To counter this, Aquino said he had called on the Department of Labor and Employment, the Commission on Higher Education, yhe Technical Skills and Development Authority and the Department of Education to address the skills mismatch./PN

HOT FM BUGASONG NEWS ALERT: TORNADO HIT PANDAN, ANTIQUE, BETWEEN 5:30-6:00PM TODAY CENTRO NORTE BADLY HIT. ACCORDING TO MAYOR JONATHAN DIOSO TAN EVEN THE MUNICIPAL HALL WAS ALSO HIT BY THE TORNADO. UPDATE OF THE DAMAGE WILL FOLLOW.