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com

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outstanding local newspaper

For Five Consecutive Years
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vol. XXII, NO. 29

www.bikolreport.blogspot.com

Bicol, the philippines

april 12-18, 2015

P5.00

( 473-8888

Albay tourism goes digital

(Story on page 3)

Daraga Church/Photo by Margaret Joy Caraig

BSTC lines up
summer activities

NAGA CITY Marking its 15th year of providing

science and technology education, the Bicol Science and
Technology Centrum (BSTC) based in this city has organized a series of activities to make the summer vacation of Nagueos fruitful and truly a learning experience.
Called Summer Fun-filled Family Day, the event includes the conduct of outdoor recreation where families
may get to have bonding moments while enjoying outdoor
activities organized by BSTC.

(Turn to page 7)

Solons assures college education to poor students

NAGA CITY --- Underprivileged but deserving High School graduates can still pursue their
college dream through
the various government
programs offering scholarship assistance and
grants in their respective
localities, the representative of the 4th District of
Camarines Sur recently
assured.
There are a lot of poor
but deserving students but
there seems to be a problem
on how they can have an
easy access to scholarship
grants, particularly with
the guidelines set by other
patrons like the Commission on Higher Education
(CHED). I already anticipated this, so I transferred
all my education funds to
the Department of Social
Welfare and Development
(DSWD) if CHED cannot
immediately act up on this,
said Congressman Felix
William Wimpy Fuentebella during a pre-Lenten
Season get-together with
the members of the local
media at Abo Farm, Tigaon,

By Ana-Liza S. Macatangay

Cong. fuentebella

Cong. romulo

Camarines Sur, Monday.

The simple gathering also
served as a welcome dinner for couple Valenzuela
Councilor Shalani Soledad
and Pasig City Representative Roman Romulo.
Soledad accompanied
her husband who was invited as Guest Speaker at
the Partido State University (PSU) during its 14th
Commencement Exercises
with the theme "Quality
Graduates in the Face of
ASEAN Integration".

(Turn to page 7)

3rd Floor, GERONIMO BLDG., BARLIN ST., NAGA CITY TELEFAX: (054) 475-62-62 CP 0921-3183720 / 0919-2822901 / 0920-5337766

opinion

bikol reporter

editorial
Easy Way In
In recent media interviews, the spokesman of the beleaguered CASURECO III had
announced the purported preference of its
consumers for the privatization of the cooperative.
Some view this option as an easy way in
and too hasty a move as it will be giving too
much to the takers who will be giving too little in return in terms of personal stake and
investment to the cooperative.
They say the decision was expressed by
a group who were hauled in the old Marcosian hakot-style to Irigas coliseum one
day purposely to give a semblance of transparency and democratic consultation to the
moro-moro.
Others are wondering whether privatization is the only option left for the coop as
there are sectors who are now proposing
that it start thinking out of the area coverage box, the foundational thrust of all electric cooperatives in the country; towards
a more manageable economic scale along
Schumachers Small is Beautiful idea.
That is, for each covered areas, like towns,
to run their own system.
This way they say, the cooperative will be
able to free itself from the grip of traditional
politicians who are given an added advantage and parallel political base by the electric cooperative system.

Easy Way Out

Department of Education officials who
are now implicated in the recent Palarong
Bicol cheating should not be given an easy
way out.
The practice of altering the age of athletes
to ensure advantage and victory had sadly
been an age-old problem of the department
as well as in our country. Just remember
the Little League fiasco decades ago.
This should stop.
The DepEd, as molders of the young,
should itself be a mold of fair play, honesty and sportsmanship; intangible values
which elevate the ideals of citius, altius
and forties of sports competitions.
As we are wont to say in Bicol, sports
sana ngani.

02082606

Tel. No. (054) 475-6262

ed g. yu
Editor

0939-604-3144

Lee G. Dullesco II

Head, Advertising Associates

0920-533-7766

april 12-18, 2015

Summer-Harvest Season
Atty. APA chairs Acyatan & Co.,
CPAs-DFK International is past chair of
ASEAN Federation of CPAs, PICPA past
president and Hall-of-Famer, and ACPAPP
Lifetime Achievement Awardee).
RICE PRICE: The government is now
boasting that the prices of domestic rice
are continually going down - citing that
the retail price of well-milled rice has went
down to P41.72 per kilogram (from P42.12)
while regular milled rice is now selling at
P37.97 (from P38.47). Wholesale prices
for both WMR and RMR are usually P3.00
lower per kilogram. The NFA explains that
the rice prices are falling because of the
summer season harvests.
The problem now has shifted to the
handling of excess harvests. Our farmers
are praying that the NFA will keep on
buying at reasonable prices as incentives
for them to continue tending their farms.
Among the tax-free de minimis benefits
for employees is P1,500/mo rice subsidy,
supposed to be equivalent to one sack
of rice. With the present retail price,
beneficiaries are still shortchanged
because the monthly cash grant is not
enough to buy the 50-kg sack of RMR
rice!
SUMMER: We now feel the heat of
the sun as the day becomes longer than
the night. Summer outing is for now as
there are more fruits in season available
by the roadsides and in supermarkets.
Harvest of various crops comes in time
for Summer together with blooming of
colorful flowers. Chedeng flirted near
our north-eastern shores only to exit as
an LPA. She brought some rains that
irrigated drying-up fields, but our farms
needed more.

opinions
unlimited
Atty. TONY (APA) ACYATAN
Soon cloud-seeding will be an
option.. We must pray for rainclouds to
form near our mountain ranges atop our
water reservoirs. Our Lord loves us so
dearly He will not punish us with drought
(after saving us from typhoons). We can
help ourselves by economizing on water
usages. Wasteful watering of our plants
and lawns should be reduced. The water
we save could quench the thirst of our
fellow Filipinos!
TAX SEASON: The current heat of
Summer is accompanied by the hardships
in filing and paying our annual income
taxes. BIRs new system which requires
electronic filing has become penitential
on the part of our taxpayers and their
accountants-auditors.
Commissioner
Henares forgot that efficiency of the
internet system varies from location to
another. As we write this column the
BIR website is awash with tax filings, and
also with complaints,
Two reasons for this problem came to
the fore. First is the propensity of tax filers
to wait for the last-hour before filing their

annual returns. (Our auditing staffers

have been sleepless since last week
and this will go on up to the April 15
deadline). Second reason is the habit
of the BIR to institute new systems for
immediate implementation right before
the income tax deadline. We are for
good systems, but taxpayers must be
given leeway and time to study and to
comply.
NATIONALISM Many of our
modern day (party-list) politicians
are taking advantage of the crisis in
confidence and presidential flip-flops
related to the Mamasapano tragedy.
They keep on harping that American
soldiers are involved in the Maguindanao
operations. Their brand of nationalism
(if we can label it as such) is actually
anti-Americanism. You never hear
these opportunistic politicians object to
the Chinese invasion of our Western
Phl Sea territories.
In our threatened situation, our only
hope of succor (actual or psychological)
can come from the USA be it in all sorts
of military hardware or training. The
Philippines and our ASEAN neighbors
should be thankful that the USA still
believes that she is the worlds general
policeman - protecting smaller and
weaker countries, among them the
Philippines. Anyone lambasting the
Americans should be asked what
is his own defense formula for our
country which is being bullied by
China?
WISDOM: When youre gone, will
the people whom you have touched
continue with your good work?

Three Vital References for BBL-Former

SC Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban
P r e s i d e n t B e n i g n o S . A q u i n o s
administration is vigorously pushing the
approval of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic
Law (BBL) that will be his legacy when he
leaves his office. Its alright if this will be good
and beneficial to all the Filipinos but it is not. It
is favorable to MILF and unfair to all Filipinos
outside Bangsamoro. Many Muslims who
are not members of the secessionist Moro
Islamic Liberation Front do not want to be
under MILF control. Same with the Nomads,
the Christians and the indigenous people in
Mindanao and other tribal groups who are
so much greater in number than the MILF
are not in favor of the BBL. The BBL will not
promote peace but divisiveness. It can be a
legacy of problems.
In view of this, heres the following
opinion of former SC Chief Justice Artemio
V. Panganiban written in the Philippine
Daily Inquirer dated March 29, 2015 entitled
Three Vital References for BBL for our
information.
In North Cotabato vs Government
(Oct. 14, 2008), the Supreme Court struck
down the Memorandum of Agreement on
Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between
the government and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) and declared
unconstitutional the underlying associative
relationship between the government and
the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.
Exclusive and distinct. As I explained
last Sunday, although the proposed
Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) changed the
word associative to asymmetric, still the
MILFs lofty aspiration for self-determination
remains unchanged.
Notably, the MILFs chief negotiator
for the old MOA-AD and for the new
Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro (CAB) upon which the BBL
is anchored is one and the same person:
Mohagher Iqbal. And the MILFs chair to
whom Iqbal reports is also the same: Al Haj
Murad Ebrahim. Understandably then, their
common dream for self-rule remains the
same, even though worded differently and

from
my
window
nenita fuentebella-peones
the implementing details watered down.
The MILFs aspiration for self-rule, by
the very terms of the BBL, is exclusive to
the Bangsamoro only, and distinct from any
self-governance given by our Constitution
to any local government unit. It goes far
beyond what has been granted to the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,
or to any province, city or town.
However, the Courts decision is emphatic
in clarity: Any law that dilutes, restricts,
equivocates or degrades any power or
authority granted by the Charter to any of the
three branches of government (executive,
legislative or judicial) or to any independent
agency (Commission on Elections, Office
of the Ombudsman, Commission on
Audit, Civil Service Commission and
Commission on Human Rights), especially
those that involve the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of our country, would be
unconstitutional.
Will SC change ruling? Given that only
four of the original 15 Supreme Court
justices who decided the North Cotabato
case are still sitting now, and given the
utter importance of peace to our country, is
there a chance that the Court may change
its mind and uphold the BBL in its present
form?
I do not think so. The Constitution is
the singular deity of the Court. It is the
Courts raison dtre. The justices are its

high priests and zealous guardians, who

are ever ready to strike down anything
that desecrates and defiles it directly or
indirectly, immediately or remotely. For
without the Constitution, the Supreme
Court is nothing.
Despite changes in its composition,
the Supreme Court is a continuing
entity that rarely reverses or modifies
landmark decisions that are protective
of the Constitution. Though the decision
writer, Justice Conchita Carpio Morales,
has retired from the Court, the current
most senior justice, Antonio T. Carpio,
wrote a concurring opinion that found
more constitutional objections than the
decision itself.
True, the three other still-sitting justices,
Presbitero J. Velasco Jr., Teresita J.
Leonardo-de Castro and Arturo D. Brion,
wrote dissenting opinions. However,
their dissents were not so much on the
substantive issue of constitutionality as on
the procedural questions of mootness and
prematurity of the petitions challenging
the MOA-AD.
The three jurists opined that the
case was mooted after then President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo advised the
Court that the MOA-AD would no longer
be signed and that she had dissolved
the government negotiating panel.
Thus, it was pointless to discuss its
constitutionality.
On the other hand, Justice Carpio
unflinchingly declared unconstitutional not
only the underlying associative concept
but, quite significantly, also 36 specific
provisions of the MOA-AD, the shadows
of which can be gleaned in the BBL.
CJ Serenos position. Although not
a member of the Court when the North
Cotabato case was decided, Chief Justice
Maria Lourdes P. A. Sereno, nonetheless,
participated in the controversy as counsel
for Sen. (now Senate President) Franklin
M. Drilon, who was an intervenor.

Visit our website:

(Turn to page 7)

www.bikolreport.blogspot.com

april 12-18, 2015

bikol reporter

Albay tourism goes digital

DARAGA, Albay -- The
provincial government of Albay and Smart Telecommunications Inc. (Smart) once
again joined hands -- this
time, in the launch of digital
tourism for Albay on Friday afternoon at the historic
church of Nuestra Seora de
Porteria, which lies atop the
St. Maria Hill in this town,
with the majestic Mayon Volcano at the background.
The partnership made Albay
the first province in the Philippines to have digital tourism.
The occasion was led by
Albay Governor Joey Sarte Salceda; Jose FL. Rosete, Smart
external relations manager for

Luzon; representatives from the

National Historical Commission and the Catholic church;
Albay provincial and Daraga
and Camalig municipal officials; tourism officers; media
and other sectoral group representatives.
Salceda said digital tourism
is the third collaborative project
of the province with Smart: first
is the Info Board with 15,000
subscribers and the second is
Pindot.
He said the first two mobile
applications are both part of the
Disaster Risk Reduction and
Management (DRRM) Program of Albay.
The DRRM expert called the

misibis bay

Daet honors ten

outstanding women

Albay Guide free mobile application a magical tourism technology of Smart in the province
of Albay.
"This is a concrete proof of

By Rosalita B. Manlangit
DAET, Camarines Norte
The municipal government of Daet announced the
ten outstanding women of the
town during its culminating
activity in line with the National Womens Month Celebration held here recently.
Mayor Tito S. Sarion said
that the honorees are Daeteos
who have proven their ability to
lead, inspire and enable others,
somebody who gave their commitment in the organization,
dedication and sustained their
advocacy. They too possessed
remarkable
accomplishment

that has major impact towards

a gender fair society and to the
community.
The awards recipients this
2014 are SPO1 Rosalinda B.
Tenso, Women and Children
Protection Desk (WCPD) Investigator of PNP; Mercy P.
Canindo, Rural Health Midwife of LGU-Daet; Estela E.
Dames, retired DILG officer;
Madonna B. Ramores, barangay councilor, Emma P. Demin,
Teacher III, Dogongan Elementary School; Maria Ofelia A.
Calubaquib, research officer of
MDRRMO; Cleotilde B. Da-

vid, RIC President/retired Agriculturist; Princes Joy C. Burse,

4th year Mining Engineering
Student at UP Diliman; Jhessa
France A. Dela Cruz, Bachelor
in Secondary Education student
of CNSC and Rosie E. Encinas,
day care teacher at Angel Day
Care Center.
The honorees were chosen from various professions,
namely, judicial service, protective and security services,
professional services, academe
and education services, volunteerism, social and community
(Turn to page 6)

MICROFINANCE CELEBRATION & SURGICAL MISSION

Daet Mayor Tito Sarion spoke at the "Kabalikat sa Maunlad na Buhay, Inc ( KMBI ) Summer
Saya " at the Our Lady of Lourdes College Foundation where he noted the 90% repayment
performance of borrowers in the whole province of Camarines Norte. He also tendered
a Welcome Dinner for the volunteers of of BACNA (Bay Area Cam. Norte Association), an
organization of Cam. Norte residents in the U.S. West Coast, which conducted a Surgical
Mission in the town.

BIKOL REPORTER
Published: April 12-18, 2015

the continuously rising level

of the tourism industry in the
province," he claimed.
Salceda said that as a free
mobile application, one can see
in just one press at his Android
cellphone the needed information about tourism in Albay,
thus, serving a handy tourism
guide to the province.
He said the free apps Albay
Guide will further enhance the
level of the state of the tourism
industry in Albay by making
people in and outside the country more aware of the tourist
destinations and amenities in
the province.
This, the Albay provincial
chief executive said, will further enhance the quality of
service of the local tourism industry players and the level of
customer satisfaction.
"We expect greater custom-

er satisfaction through greater

information and, thus, more repeat customers, while broadening our access to tourism markets," Salceda added.
For his part, Rosete disclosed that Albay is the first
province in the country to have
digital tourism while among
cities only Baguio, Cebu and
IloIlo have.
He said Smart and Albay
have long been partners in progress and in this project, which,
he said, is part of Smart's corporate social responsibility, the
company has allotted a lot of
money, which he did not mention.
The Smart official claimed
that any network provider can
download the Albay Guide free
mobile application -- however,
only through an Android cellphone unit.- PNA

bikol reporter

tip of an
iceberg
homar murillo

Email: [email protected]

Looming Power Crisis

(Part 3 of a 3-part series)

The high power rates and the convoluted billing system

of the power industry in the Philippines can be blamed to the
sins of the past and to the lack of foresight of our political
leaders. It all began when the then totally mismanaged
National Power Corporation (NAPOCOR) was divided
into several sub-units such as generation, power grid
transmission and sub-distribution. Through the EPIRA law
or the Electric Power Industry Reform Act was introduced to
address the inefficiencies of the state-owned power industry,
thereby ending the monopoly of the government. NAPOCOR
was sold piece by piece to private corporations. Through
the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp
or PSALM, the power generation aspect was sold to several
private investors and the transmission aspect was sold to
the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines or NGCP,
which is actually a Chinese consortium. The government
gave up its monopoly on the power industry but also passed
on portion of its debts(amounting to 6.5 billion dollars in
2001)to the public and created new problems. The original
intention of selling NAPOCOR to private entities was to
create a free market wherein the prices would eventually go
down and efficiency of services would improve because of
competition. However, even PSALM incurred debts worth
130 billion pesos because it was forced to maintain the
ageing power plants that were not able to make profits.
The liberalization of the Philippine power industry,
however, led to the opening of a proverbial Pandoras Box.
This was partly because the sub-distribution component of
the industry was largely left to the management of the socalled electric cooperatives. With few exceptions such as
MERALCO, the power sub-distribution became the de-facto
proxy battlegrounds of local politicians. It is not uncommon
that certain local politicians such as mayors, congressmen
and governors would support or sponsor certain candidates
for the board of directors of electric cooperatives. The
politicians then gain proxy control over the cooperatives
that happened to have the majority of board of directors
that are their protges.
Some corrupt politicians even convert the power
cooperatives under their control as personal milking cows.
Special concessions and contracts are granted to private
suppliers and contractors that are transacting with the
cooperatives. Oftentimes, the contractors and suppliers are
under the name of dummy owners that are also controlled
by the corrupt politicians. Special treatments are also
given to some of the friends of the politicians even if their
power bill arrearages are already amounting to several
millions. As a result, some electric cooperatives incur
large amounts of debts and become totally mismanaged
and inefficient.
At the national level, there are other factors that
contribute to the high cost of electricity and the general
inefficiency. Aside from the basic costs of power generation,
grid transmission, sub-distribution, systems loss, taxes and
subsidies, the government also provides profit guarantees
to the power producers. One way of guaranteeing profits
is through the Incremental Currency Exchange Rate
Adjustment Mechanism or ICERA. It is a protection against
the fluctuations of currency in the international market. The
currency fluctuations directly affect the costs of fossil fuels
that many power plants are using to generate electricity.
The power plants can also recover their power generation
losses through the Generation Rate Adjustment Mechanism
or GRAM. Meanwhile, the power transmission companies
also could recover losses from the Transmission Rate
Adjustment Mechanism. As a solution to the rolling power
blackouts in the 1990s, the government guaranteed to
purchase the excess power productions of the independent
power producers or IPPs.
The combination of various factors such as politicking,
mounting debts and government guarantees to private
companies, the sub-distribution sector (electric cooperatives)
had no other choice but to charge high rates. Meanwhile,
the inefficiencies of the sub-distribution sector resulted to
the bankruptcies of some of the electric cooperatives. Some
proposed to simply privatize these coops while others are
advocating cooperative-to-cooperative cooperation. Some
of the recent victims of these inefficiencies include the now
defunct ALECO of Albay and CASURECO III of Camarines
Sur. Hence, the looming power crisis is not only a problem of
generating sufficient supply of electricity but also a problem
of sub-distribution.
The debate of whether or not to privatize all electric
cooperatives deserves a more thorough discussion. I will
devote the next article to this topic. Thank you to my friend
John Russel Barbosa for suggesting this topic.

halo-halo

april 12-18, 2015

Kun Mayong Masurat

Garo nagtitinikling an uran sa atop
nagdudurudotdot an sarong bitis asin
minalumpat si saro, habong madakop sa
sarong makusog na pagbulos. Siring kaini
an sakong namamati ngonyan na mga
nakaaging aldaw sa pagsurat, masakiton
magsulog an mga boot isurat, mailyas
arog kan mga talas na kadto dakul asin
matalingkas na naglilibot sa kadlagan kan
bukid Iriga. Pinurbaran ko nang bilangon
an sakong mga nakaaging balaog asin
magpasalamat kan mga ini, nganing
magtaong konsolasyon sa sakong ispiritu
na malinaw na yaon sa desolasyon. Yaon
sa tag-init kun bako man tagtutong, kun
bubutungon ko pa an komparasyon.
Ano man an matubo sa alang na daga?
Siguro kapagalan na ini, o natipon na
mga kaanggotan asin pagkadisganar. O
pagpatong-patong kan panahon. Mga
dapat gibohon o nagdadangadang na

Dis*Karte
*Kusyon
*Kurso
frank peones jr.
mga kasiributan.
Dakul na an nagsurat kun pano
malagpasan an inaapod na writers block.
Malinaw na mayong sarong epektibong
solusyon. An sarong nagin positibo sa
saro, posibleng dai magamit nin saro.

Sa sakong parte, ginigibo kong garo

mga hollow blocks an nagdadalagan
na mga nasasaboot o naiisip, sinusurat
ini abot na ini magkapatong-patong,
garo tungtungan na sakong gagamiton
nganing maluksuhan an nakakaulang
sa sakong pagsurat.
Kan sarong banggi kan naputulan an
CASURECO III, nagtingag ako sa langit.
Sarong banggi idto na garo ladawan
kan pangako ni Yahweh ki Abraham.
Dai mabilang an mga kabitoonan asin
sa irarom kaini, napupungot ako kan
diklom. May sarong garo kinindatan
ako asin sakong nagiromdoman si
Sta. Teresa kan Avila: Dai nungkang
maribaraw, dai nungkang mahandal.
Malipas an gabos na bagay
Nagbalik ako sa sakong kama asin
nagturog na tamong an rinibong mga
bitoon.

Libmanan celebrates Handiong Festival anew

By: Ana-Liza S. Macatangay

LIBMANAN,
Camarines
Sur, April 9 (PIA) --- On its 5th
Handiong Festival and celebration of Libmanans 441st Foundation Anniversary, Libmaneos chose to rekindle the sense
of heroism and look back on the
sacrifices and bravery of their
local hero, Handiong.
Libmanan Mayor Marilyn
Jimenez stated that the weeklong celebration of Handiong
Festival aims to remind the
young generation how the
towns civilization started and
for them to imitate the good
deeds that Handiong possessed
and the tenets that he lived by,
not to mention his bravery and
love for his people.
Handiong is known in the
archives of Bicol history as the
brave warrior who wiped out
the monsters that were creating
havoc over the peaceful land
of Ibalon. The restoration of

peace in his place brought forth

many good things, one of which
is the creation of an equal law that
no one will be called masters nor
slaves. Everyone will all have an
equal footing.
Jimenez said that these traits
are worth-emulating and should
be continued and nurtured by the
upcoming generation.
We do not want to lose sight
of these valuable principles and
ethics and one way of continually
reminding our youth about these is
through the celebration of Handiong Festival where we commemorate the blessings of having a great
hero in the name of Handiong- the
very reason too why we have a
progressive Libmanan.
One of the highlights of the
celebration is the annual Libmanan Regatta competition. Here, all
the best rowers will show off their
stamina and harmony in paddling
in order to grab the champion-

inner chess
by j. henry danican

ship crown. The municipalities of

Cabusao, Calabanga, Camaligan,
Magarao joined the race which
was held at the historic wide river
of Libmanan.
The recently concluded competition was divided into three categories: the 10-man team, 6-man
team and the dragon boat competition. Paddlers from LGU Magarao grabbed the first place under
the 10-man category, followed by
Calabanga as 2nd placer and Cabusao in the 3rd place.
Rowers
from
Camaligan
grabbed the first place in the
6-man team category, Calabanga
2nd and Magarao got the third
place. Magarao redeemed another
win when it got the 1st place in the
Dragon boat competition.
Aside from honoring Handiong,
the local government through the
Municipal Programs and Events
Section headed by its Chief, Ruel
Bibby Jimenez also intends to

promote the preservation of

their culture and the promotion
of their tourist sites to domestic
and local tourists. Some of the
activities which were conducted
in line with this objective include the launching of the Inland cultural heritage Ecotourism tour and marine ecotourism
adventure, Handiong Exhibits
and Fair, among others.
Various programs were also
launched to protect and preserve
the environment. This includes
the Buhayon an Salog program
or river revival program which
kicked off through the dispersal
of fingerlings in the river and
the Libmanan Riverbanks vegetation and forestation program,
a soil erosion control disaster
mitigation measure.
The town of Libmanan is
considered as an extremely
large municipality with a total
of 75 barangays under its reign.

april 12-18, 2015

bikol reporter

UN population agency hails

Albays Youth program
By Nancy Ibo Mediavillo
LEGAZPI CITY -- "Albay is a very proactive, engaged and good partner of the
UNFPA. In fact it has a lot of
very good ideas and policies,"
Klaus Bleck, United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA)
country representative in the
Philippines, said Wednesday at the Albay Astrodome
where he is the guest speaker
during the Albay Adolescent
Congress on Wednesday and
Thursday.
In fact, Bleck said, only four
out of the 80 provinces in the
Philippines have collaboration with the UNFPA -- Sultan
Kudarat, North Cotabato; Saranggani, Surigao Del Sur and
Albay.
He said that when the collaboration between the UNFPA
and the Provincial Government
of Albay (PGA) under Governor
Joey Sarte Salceda through
the Provincial Health Office
and Albay AIDS Council
headed by Mike Dela Rama
was firmed up, the province
has made significant steps
towards the welfare of the
youth, which, he said, is the
hope of the country.
The UNFPA official noted
that more than 30 percent of
the population is composed of
the youth.
Bleck said the most common issues confronting the
youth today are teenage pregnancy, difficulty in finding job,
and increasing cases of HIV/
AIDS.
He stressed that those getting pregnant and suffering
from HIV/AIDS are getting

younger and younger.

Bleck said these can be best
addressed by the combined
forces of the national and local governments, private sector
and UNFPA.
He called for the implementation of the Reproductive
Health Law and strengthening
of the policies of the local governments on issues confronting
the youth.
Board Member Herbert
Borja, chair of the committee
on health of the Sangguniang
Panlalawigan of Albay, said
health programs are in the priority agenda of the PGA under
Salceda.
In fact, the province has established Teen Health Centers
in the cities of Ligao and Tabaco and the towns of Guinobatan
and Daraga.

The PGA plans to put up

similar center in every city
and town of the province.
Borja said the primary
purpose of the Teen Health
Centers is to provide right
place and services to the
youth that would not make
them hesitate to bring out
their problems because those
who will run the centers are
also young individuals.
Aside from these centers, the
province has also put up U4U
Center at the Ligao National
High School and soon it will
set up similar establishments
in other big public schools
like the Tabaco National High
School, Daraga National High
School, Pag-asa National High
School, Libon Central School
and Polangui Comprehensive
National High School.

Romulo to assist local TESDA

Pasig City Representative

Roman Romulo has promised
to assist vocational schools
administered by the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)
following an unscheduled
visit to the Cabugao School
of Handicraft and Cottage
Industries the other Sunday
(March 15) to consult with
TESDA officials.
Taking precious time off his
schedule as the guest speaker at
the 44th Commencement Exercises of the Catanduanes State
University, the congressman,
accompanied by wife Shalani
Soledad-Romulo, acceded to
the invitation of TESDA OICprovincial director Elpidio Tuboro.
At the school, Tuboro, CSHCI OIC-vocational school administrator Gloria Sorrera and

CSC-Bicol enjoins Bicolanos to avail

of Australian scholarship awards
By Danny O. Calleja

LEGAZPI CITY - The

Civil Service Commission
(CSC) Bicol regional office is
enjoining Bicolanos to apply
and become lucky grantees of
the Australia Awards Scholarships (AAS), which is now
accepting applicants for its
2015-2016 program.
The deadline for filing applications is set this month and
CSC Regional Director Cecilia
Nieto on Saturday here said
those who may be eligible and
interested should better be in a
hurry so as not to miss this big

MOBILE JOBS FAIR

jmts/danrey/mmec

The provincial government has conducted a jobs fair at the

Camarines Sur Polytechnic College-Nabua last March 31,
2015 where 251 registrants were given first crack at choice
vacancies for local and overseas employment opportunities.
A total of 5 overseas recruitment agencies and 24 local
companies and agencies participated in the said activity.

opportunity.
The scholarships are longterm development awards administered by the Australian
Department of Foreign Affairs
and Trade to provide opportunities for people from developing
countries like the Philippines to
undertake full-time undergraduate or postgraduate study at
participating Australian universities and Technical and Further
Education (TAFE) institutions.
Offered for the minimum
period necessary for the individual to complete the academic program specified by the
Australian higher education institution, the program generally
includes benefits such as full
tuition fees, return air travel,
establishment allowance, contributions to living expenses
(CLE) and Overseas Student
Health Cover (OSHC), among
others.
To be eligible to receive a
scholarship, Nieto said, local
applicants must be a minimum
of 18 years of age at the time of
commencing the study grant;
a citizen and resident of the
Philippines and; not married,
engaged to or a de facto of a
person who holds, or is eligible
to hold, Australian or New Zealand citizenship or permanent
residency, at any time during
the application, selection or
mobilization phases.
To qualify, an applicant must
not also be currently a military
serving personnel; not a citizen
or holder of permanent residency in Australia or applying for a
visa to live in the same country
permanently; have satisfied any
specific criteria established by
the Philippine government and;
be able to satisfy the admission
requirements of the institution
at which the award is to be undertaken.
To ensure the development
impact of AAS, all awardees
must return home on completion of their studies so they can
contribute to development in
their country
Nieto said her office is helping in the implementation of
this program as CSC is one of
the partners of the PhilippineAutralian Human Resource and
Organizational Development
Facility (PAHRODF) taking
part in the information cam(Turn to page 6)

BIKOL REPORTER
Published: April 12-18, 2015

Cong. romulo
other TESDA officials brought
to Rep. Romulos attention
the need for the development,
upgrading and provision of instructional equipment and facilities at Cabugao and at the
two other TESDA campuses in
Pandan and Vigaa.
Romulos assistance would

Councilor romulo
be vital in securing inclusion
in the General Appropriations
Act of 2016 of the required
funding for the effective and efficient transfer of technology to
students and trainees based on
industry standards to produce
quality and employable gradu(Turn to page 7)

april 12-18, 2015

bikol reporter

Barangays tapped
in AIDS drive

4PS GRADUATION

Jess M. Escaros Jr./SCS/jme

Rose Bongon, a local beneficiary of the Pantawid

Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) joined other high
school students from all over the country during the first
graduation of the beneficiaries of the program last April

9, 2015 at the Philippine International Convention Center

(PICC) Banquet Room II in Pasay City, attended by no less
than Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary
Corazon J. Soliman.

DENR issues guidelines

for school sites patents
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) through
Sec. Ramon JP Paje has
recently issued guidelines
for the processing and issuance of special patents for
public school sites or those
within the administrative
jurisdiction of Department
of Education (DepEd) and
Commission on Higher Education.
Department Administrative
Order 2015-01 dated March 4,
2015 also provides for education related services such as,

Sec. PAJE

CSC-Bicol enjoins Bicolanos . . .

paign for the AAS 2015-2016
intake.
Earlier, she said, the CSC
regional office initiated a series
of orientation that provided information about the scholarship
program and the process of application for interested individuals and groups in the region.
Representatives from private sectors -- particularly civil
society and non-government
organizations, persons with disability, women and indigenous
peoples -- attended the activities held here and in Naga City,
according to Nieto.
She said representatives
from PAHRODF, which facilitated the orientation, also
gave attendees an opportunity
to one-on-one consultations on
the eligibility and application
process and requirements.
Since the AAS is an international development scheme of
the Australian Government that
aims to develop leadership and
build partnerships and enduring
linkages between Australia and
its partner-developing countries
including the Philippines, Nieto
said her office wants more Bi-

colanos into it.

She explained that the program is designed to provide
high-achieving Filipino development leaders with the opportunity to pursue Masters
degrees in Australias premier
academic institutions.
Priority areas of the scholarship awards are in basic education, social protection and welfare, peace and development,
public financial management,
disaster risk reduction and management, organizational development/human resource management, trade and economic
development, foreign relations,
governance and mining or mining-related fields, Nieto said.
For over 50 years, she said,
Australia has supported the
Philippines best and the brightest to study and train at its
world-class universities on this
Australian Government-funded
scholarships that are open to
talented Filipino leaders and
achievers regardless of gender,
ethnicity or disability who are
passionate about sparking positive change and development in
the Philippines.

but not limited to, those used

for offices, canteens, gardens,
aethetic fields, sports compex,
sports courts, clinics, gymnasium, car parks, science centers,
nature parks and related areas.
The requirements for requesting said patent include:
1) request by the DepEd; 2)
historical background of possession/occupation; 3) recent
photographs showing the view
of the area and adjacent areas;
and 4) certification of no pending land registration application issued by the Regional
Trial Court/Land Registration

Authority (LRA) having jurisdiction over the land.

The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources
Officer shall approve or disapprove such request.
The Special patent may be
requested by the Superintendent of the Division of Schools
or any authorized Officer of
DepEd Central Office may request for its issuance.
Inquiries could be made at
any Community Environment
and Natural Resources Offices
having jurisdiction over the
site being applied for.

It has also so far awarded

22 emerging leaders from the
Philippine public sector such as
the Department of Education),
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and
the National Mapping and Resources Information Authority
(NAMRIA) who were taken in
last January.
They will head to Australia's world-renowned universities next year for post-graduate
studies in key areas such as education, peace studies, disaster
preparedness, and geographic
information science.
Upon their return to the
Philippines, these scholars are
expected to implement in their
organizations a re-entry action
plan (REAP)an innovative
feature of the program that
would enable them to apply the
knowledge gained in Australia
to spearhead positive change in
their workplaces, Nieto said.
Previous returning scholars have successfully initiated
change through their REAPs,
Nieto said, citing among others a 2013 scholar from the
DILG in Western Visayas who
now assists local government
units in crafting investment

and incentive codes, which in

turn, helped create a businessfriendly environment for local
and foreign investors.
Another one is a 2011 scholar who is now helping NAMRIA deliver enhanced software
for the distribution to the public
of the source code management
system, which is proving essential in helping the agency reaches its goal of delivering timely,
accessible and accurate geospatial information, Nieto said.

NAGA CITY Strengthening its campaign against

human
immunodeficiency
virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV-AIDS),
the Association of Barangay
Councils, here, is holding on
April 9, this year, an information and education campaign
that would raise the level of
awareness of the public on the
fatal disease.
The activity, which will be
conducted at the Blue Room
of the Public Safety Office, is
expected to be replicated in the
citys 27 barangays in the following days as the Naga City
AIDS Council has called on
the community officials to join
in organizing a massive move
that would allow the body to
identify and place under close
surveillance all individuals suspected of HIV-AIDS.
The move, which will include the conduct of counselling sessions for the patients and
their families, was prompted by
the councils concern to help reduce the incidence of AIDS in
the city, if it cant be decimated
totally.
Individuals who have been
found positive for HIV are
being provided with medical
services like giving them antiviral medicines to prevent HIV
from developing into full blown
AIDS.
The Council also encourages HIV-AIDS patients to come

Dr. borja
out in the open along with their
partners to be able to avail of
the medical services that the
city government is willing to
give to individuals suffering
from or having symptoms of
the disease.
Medical Technologist II
Grace Eleazar Guevara of the
Social Hygiene Clinic of the
City Health Office said most
of the HIV-AIDS cases were
acquired thru MSM, a contraction of male who have sex with
fellow male/s.
Dr. Butch Borja, city health
officer and vice-chairman of the
NCAC, is assuring the public
that every data and information about the matter, especially
on the patients identity and
health status will be treated with
utmost confidentiality.
There has been a report of
escalating cases of HIV-AIDS
disease throughout the country.
jason b. neola

Daet honors ten . . .

services, philanthropic, culture
and arts, math, science and technology, entrepreneurship; nongovernment organization and
civic organization, media public information and journalism,
government service and sports,
and those with disability.
Also in line with the celebration, the local government also
bared that a total of 29 women
have donated their blood during the bloodletting activity
conducted recently. The activ-

ity carried the theme: Babae:

Dugo mo Buhay ko.
Aside from the said activities the local government also
had the hanging of streamer,
lecture on the preventive measures and livelihood programs
for the entertainment establishment workers (EEWs) and
Womens Congress.
This years theme for the
celebration is Juana, Desisyon
Mo ay Mahalaga sa Kinabukasan ng Bawat Isa, Ikaw Na!

march
Name of Deceased
CLARA M. MARTINEZ
ZACH NYEL P. CACHO
LAILANIE A. BONTO
MARIA D. SALIVA
LILIAN S. GARDINER
ENCARNACION S. MANAIT
FLORDELITO G. LOPEZ SR.
JOSE A. MANZANO
DANTE O. CLEDERA
ANTONIO C. FRANCISCO
SALVACION B. MERCA
LORNA C. SAN PASCUAL
ANDREA B. DELA TRINIDAD
CRISANTO F. CASTRO JR.
ALFREDO N. MARCO
RITA G. TUASON
RENDEL RYAN D. SY III
AMPARO P. BONGAT
SALUD S. GRACILLA
VIRGINIA E. OJEDA
AMELIA T. BORREGA

Date of Interment
March 2, 2015
March 10, 2015
March 11, 2015
March 11, 2015
March 12, 2015
March 14, 2015
March 15, 2015
March 15, 2015
March 15, 2015
March 18, 2015
March 20, 2015
March 21, 2015
March 22, 2015
March 25, 2015
March 26, 2015
March 26, 2015
March 27, 2015
March 27, 2015
March 28, 2015
March 29, 2015
March 29, 2015

april 12-18, 2015

bikol reporter

SUMMER READY

jorechiii

This private farm at Sitio Yabo, Bgy. Carolina, Naga City with its wellmanicured lawns and solarenergized farm house and cottages welcomes

its visitors and vacationers as they enjoy its cool spring waters and
endless summer sun!

Solons assures college . . .

Romulo to assist . . .

Fuentebella stated that

Romulos presence also
speaks of his own aggressive
advocacy to help indigent
students acquire their muchcoveted college education by
informing them of the various scholarship grants that is
up for grabs for state colleges
and universities (SUCs) all
throughout the country.
The exclusion of the Priority Development Assistance
Fund (PDAF) from the local
legislators fund brought fear
among the scholars sponsored
by politicians after it was declared unconstitutional by the
Supreme Court.
Fuentebella, in order not
to severely affect his constituents, has thought of resorting to other avenues so as not

to derail the education of his

scholars. One of which is to
transfer the education fund to
DSWD for implementation.
He also made mention of the
Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) and its
internship program which can
assist the students in pursuing
their education.
Romulo, who is the current Chairman of the House
Committee on Higher and
Technical Education and one
of the sponsors of the Iskolar
ng Bayan bill, said that this
legislation will allow poor
families to fulfill their dreams
of sending their children to
college.
We have Republic Act
10648 or the Iskolar ng
Bayan program which al-

lows top ten students of every High School to enroll and

be admitted to SUCs of his
choice within his province.
We have already 8,000 public
High Schools and that would
translate to 80,000 scholars
who can benefit from this
program, Romulo added.
The Iskolar ng Bayan Act
of 2014 was signed into law
by President Benigno Aquino
III in November last year.
Romulo also informed his
audience, mostly scholars
and professors of PSU and
LGU Chief Executives within
the 4th District of Camarines
Sur, that the UniFAST Bill
which has already passed

ates locally and abroad.

In addition, they impressed
on the visitor, the upgrading
and provision of equipment and
facilities will eventually help
the Department of Education
in the implementation of the

its 3rd and final reading is

on its way to the Senate for
deliberation.
Under this proposed bill,
student financial assistance
programs can be in the form
of scholarship, grants-in aid,
students loan, socialized tuition fees and other modalities that the UniFAST Board
may develop.

BSTC lines up summer . . .

BSTC, which will be celebrating its founding anniversary on June 15, this year, is
joint project of the city government and the Department
of Science and Technology
(DOST). It is a museum that
promotes science and technology through the use of
interactive gadgets and exhibits.
From April 20 to June 31,
this year, the museums science gallery will be open to
the public without admittance
fee. We will treat families
and individuals to a supervised tour around the galleries every day except Sunday,
from 8:00 to 11:00 AM and
from 1:00 to 2:00 PM, declares Nestor Villanea, OICAdministrator of BSTC.
An event called stargazing
sa barangay will also be held
from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM
from April 20, this year, until June 31, 2015, along with
film showing in the citys 27
barangays. The schedule for

the twin activities in the barangays are as follows:

Abella, June 5; Bagumbayan Norte, April 27; Bagumbayan Sur, April 29; Balatas, May 20; Calauag (to be
determined yet), Cararayan,
April 24; Carolina, May 13;
Concepcion Grande (to be
determined),
Concepcion
Pequea, April 20; Dayangdang, May 22; Del Rosario
(to be determined), Dinaga,
May 25; Igualdad (to be determined), Lerma, May 27;
Liboton (to be determined),
Mabolo, May 6; Pacol, May
11; Panicuason, May 15; Peafrancia, May 18; Sabang,
June 10; San Felipe, May 4;
San Francisco, June 3; San
Isidro, May 8; Sta. Cruz, June
1; Tabuco (to be determined),
Tinago, April 22 and Triangulo (to be determined).
Stargazing and film showing will also be conducted
at the City Hall grounds on
June 29, this year. jason
b. neola

Basic Enhanced Education or

the K+12 program, especially
in the capability building of
DepEd teachers.
It was stressed that the construction of two buildings in
Viga and Pandan were funded
by former Cong. Edcel Lagman but were not allocated any

equipment, maintenance funds

and other operating expenditures as well as regular staff to
man the centers operation.
Rep. Romulo brought with
him a list of tools and equipment needed by the TESDAadministered institutions for
their different priority disciplines and qualifications.

from my window . . .
Her 72-page memorandum was a brilliant defense of the
Constitution and veritable source of her mindset on the conduct
of peace negotiations. She detailed the constitutional violations
[that] eroded the sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines
, split its national identity [and] created a state within a
statea concept alien and antithetical to the one sovereign nation
embodied in the Constitution.
At bottom, I believe that before enacting the BBL, Congress
would be well-advised to ingest very well three vital documents: (1)
the North Cotabato decision; (2) the concurring opinion of Justice
Carpio, and (3) the memorandum of then Attorney Sereno.

LOT FOR SALE

863 SQ. METERS
Location:
Gogon-Dugcal,
Camaligan, Camarines Sur
For inquiries:
Please contact 09192822901
(Direct Buyers only)
NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC
AUCTION SALE/SUBASTA
All unredeemed items/articles pawned at ROWENA ASPE
PAWNSHOP, P. Burgos St., corner J. Hernandez Avenue, Naga
City, pawned from NOV. 2-30, 2014 whose terms have expired
will be sold to public auction sale on MAY 1, 2015 from 9:00
A.M.-12:00 NOON.
Redemption/Renewals of all pledges covered by the abovementioned date will be honored until APRIL 28, 2015 only.

THE MANAGEMENT
BIKOL REPORTER
Published: APRIL 5 and 12, 2015

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

AUCTION SALE/SUBASTA

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

AUCTION SALE/SUBASTA

All unredeemed items/articles pawned at R. M. ASPE

PAWNSHOP, Cor. Panganiban & Elias Angeles Street,
Naga City, pawned from NOV. 2-30, 2014 whose terms have
expired will be sold to public auction sale on MAY 1, 2015
from 9:00 A.M.-12:00 NOON.
Redemption/Renewals of all pledges covered by the
above-mentioned date will be honored until APRIL 28,
2015 only.

THE MANAGEMENT
BIKOL REPORTER
Published: APRIL 5 and 12, 2015

All unredeemed items/articles pawned at ASPE EXPLORER PAWNSHOP, Ground Floor, Bichara Complex, Abella St.,
Igualdad, Naga City, pawned from NOV. 2-30, 2014 whose
terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on
MAY 1, 2015 from 9:00 A.M.-12:00 NOON.
Redemption/Renewals of all pledges covered by the
above-mentioned date will be honored until APRIL 28, 2015
only.

THE MANAGEMENT
BIKOL REPORTER
Published: APRIL 5 and 12, 2015

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

AUCTION SALE/SUBASTA
All unredeemed items/articles pawned at ASPE CROWNJEWEL PAWNSHOP & JEWELRY STORE, Bichara Mall corner
J. Hernandez & Gen. Luna Sts., Naga City, pawned from NOV.
2-30, 2014 whose terms have expired will be sold to public
auction sale on MAY 1, 2015 from 9:00 A.M.-12:00 NOON.
Redemption/Renewals of all pledges covered by the
above-mentioned date will be honored until APRIL 28, 2015
only.

THE MANAGEMENT
BIKOL REPORTER
Published: APRIL 5 and 12, 2015

NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC

AUCTION SALE/SUBASTA
All unredeemed items/articles pawned at ASPE IGUALDAD PAWNSHOP, Cor. Igualdad Ext. & J. Hernandez Ave.,
Igualdad, Naga City, pawned from NOV. 2-30, 2014 whose
terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on
MAY 1, 2015 from 9:00 A.M.-12:00 NOON.
Redemption/Renewals of all pledges covered by the
above-mentioned date will be honored until APRIL 28, 2015
only.

THE MANAGEMENT
BIKOL REPORTER
Published: APRIL 5 and 12, 2015

regional exponent for progress

LGU Naga honors

local vets, heroes
By Ana-Liza S. Macatangay

outstanding local newspaper

For Five Consecutive Years by the St. Peter
Baptist Catholic Mass Media Awards

BIKOL
REPORTER

april 12-18, 2015

ARAW NG KAGITINGAN

Naga Mayor John Bongat at the wreath-laying ceremony held at the Naga City hall grounds
commemorating the 73rd year of Day of Valor last Thursday, April 9.

NAGA CITY --- As it

joins the entire nation in
commemorating the 73rd
year of Araw ng Kagitingan
or Day of Valor, this city also
celebrated today the 70th
death anniversary of one of
Bicols valiant heroes, Lt.
Delfin C. Rosales and the
observance of Philippine
Veterans week.
In a meaningful yet brief
ceremony held at the Naga
City hall grounds this morning,
Mayor John G. Bongat reiterated the reason why we have to
honor and remember our fallen
heroes and live by heart what
was written in the historical
pages of our forebears struggles, including the sacrifices
made by our forefathers.
It is only fitting, that we
should not only commemorate, but make the spirit of
these dead alive, not only
in our minds, but also in our
hearts. What is most important in this gathering is the
understanding of what we are
commemorating and how this
understanding will be applied
in our present lives, whatever
our status is in the government. We remember them
since they sacrificed not only
for themselves, but for our
people and for our nation,
Bongat said.
Bongat added that as
Naguenos celebrate these
three significant events, they
also have to remember the
reason behind the death, martyrdom and sacrifices of these
great men of courage. He then
challenged everyone to bring
out that hero inside them by
simply looking at the spectrum of sacrifice as a worthy
endeavor.
What is the effect of this
to me as a Nagueno as a
Filipino? If you are a teacher,
teach well; if you are a Policeman, find ways to give Naguenos that sense of security that
they will walk with peace of
mind, without fear. We at the
City hall, what do we have to
do to make our clients happy?
That will be through genuine
public service. The buzz word
is sacrifice.
Bongat was joined by all
the members of the Sangguniang Panlunsod, various
Department Heads and office personnel, including the
members of the media in remembering these significant
occasions.
The officers and men of the
9th Infantry Division, Philippine Army carried the wreath
and rendered the 21 volley
fire in honor of the fallen heroes and in recognition of
their great sacrifices in order
to give their countrymen their
much coveted freedom. The
unified troops which include
the 9th ID, PA, Naga City Police Office of the Phillippine
National Police (PNP) and the
Naga City Fire Station, Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP)
rendered the hand salutes.
Hon. Salvador G. Cajot,
Philippine Veterans Federation District Commander of
Camarines Sur expressed
his gratitude to Bongat for
the city governments untiring support to the plight of
the veterans.