11 COMMUNITY SENSE
EDGEDAVAO VOL. 6 ISSUE 74 • THURSDAY, JUNE 27, 2013
Banana company employs about 5,000 Pablo victims
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BOUT 5,000 Typhoon Pablo victims in Compostela Valley have sought work from SUMIFRU Phils. Corp. as the banana company came back to operate after the typhoon. Governor Arturo T. Uy is very much grateful to them for they fulfilled their promise to continue operating in ComVal despite of their heavy losses in the banana industry due to typhoon Pablo. Indigenous People’s Sectoral Representative Augusto Blanco, Jr. recalled that on December 22, 2012, the SUMIFRU President, Mr. Paul Cuyegkeng together with their former Country Manager, Mr. Noel Venus came to visit the province
and handed to Governor Uy their P1.0 Million worth of check donation for the typhoon victims, along with the promise to continue investing in the province despite of what their company went through because of the typhoon. SP Member Blanco also shared that in Compostela town alone, SUMIFRU has about 2,500 hectares of banana plantation which accommodated thousands of family heads of the typhoon victims to work. He further informed that SUMIFRU has been active in extending interventions to the province particularly in delivering safe and potable water to the evacuees. [Grace Almedilla/Gilbert M. Cabahug, IDS-Comval]
“Bayanihan” is still being practiced in some Davao City communities as displayed by these fishermen who are seen lifting a neighbor’s motorized boat, in Brgy. Lasang yesterday. Lean Daval Jr.
DSWD-CSO caravan slated D
esigned to encourage and increase the number of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) participating as partners in the implementation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will conduct a Regional CSO Caravan at the Royal Mandaya Hotel tomorrow, June 27, 2013. DSWD believes that opening spaces and institutionalizing mechanisms for CSO involvement in promoting transparency and accountability is a significant step in enhancing sustaining implementation and monitoring the Pantawid Pam-
ilyang Pilipino Program. These partnerships will pave the way for a mutual sharing of skills, transfer of technology, and resource augmentation for the partners in any area the CSOs may choose in line with their mandate and capacity. “The continuing pursuits for new partners through the conduct of CSO Caravan in the region is seen as a key step to explore and initiate critical partnership with different organizations both from civil society and the private sector,” stressed DSWD Regional Director Priscilla Razon. The said activity will include a gallery walk with panels that exhib-
it a background on the Pantawid Pamilya program, the different areas of engagement patterned from the Bantay, Gabay, Tulay, at Kaagapay framework. The activity will also include a two-hour program with presentations on the Pantawid Pamilya, its partnership framework, its points of intervention for CSO partner, brief background on the various types of engagements, as well as a commitment ritual to conclude the orientation caravan. The DSWD with its mandate to provide leadership in social welfare and development, recognizes the vital role of Civil Society Organizations
(CSOs), which includes but is not limited to, non-government organizations (NGOs), people’s organizations, cooperatives, trade unions, professional associations, faith-based organizations, media groups, indigenous peoples organizations, foundations, and other citizen groups formed primarily for social and economic development. CSOs are partners of government in addressing the needs of the disadvantaged poor household beneficiaries of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, through continuing collaboration and complementation of resources and services. [DSWD/ Sheryll Jane B. Sanico]
HE Hedcor, Sibulan, Inc. has renewed its support to the Davao del Sur Electric Cooperative (DASURECO) in reaching out to countryside folks longing for an electrification in their barangays. Hedcor officials signed last June 24 a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with DASURECO officers, concurring to another partnership in building power lines to far-flung communities in the province that have no access to electricity. The MOA stipulated a P2 million-worth of assis-
tance from Hedcor which would use the amount to purchase house wiring and service dropping materials that would be turned over to DASURECO for implementation. The assistance forms part of the P3 million yearly commitment of Hedcor to DASURECO’s electrification efforts in remote barangays, stated Hedcor vice-president for Mindanao Operations Rolando Pacquiao. Pacquiao bared that the P1 million was already given in cash to DASURECO early this year. He said this partner-
ship with the electric cooperative started in 2011 as part of Hedcor’s obligations for operating the 42.5-megawatt run-ofriver Sibulan hydropower plants in the municipality of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur. DASURECO general manager Engr. Godofredo Guya was thankful to Hedcor for continuously supporting the cooperative’s line expansion project intended for households who did not qualify for President Aquino’s Sitio Electrification Program (SEP) and Barangay Line En-
hancement Program (BLEP). Guya said the P2 million assistance would benefit about 60 households from Digos City and the 14 municipalities in the province, who would be provided with free house wiring materials. Aside from Hedcor, the DASURECO official bared that the National Electrification Administration (NEA) has also considered providing aid to the electric cooperative to help another 60 households. [PIA 11/ Carina L. Cayon]
Hedcor backs electrification in remote barangays T
New physiotherapy clinic for amputees at DPRC
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ATIENTS of Davao Jubilee Foundation, including those with physical disabilities resulting from armed violence, are benefiting from a newly built physiotherapy clinic. DJF’s fully equipped physiotherapy clinic, the construction of which was supported by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), was inaugurated yesterday. The new facility has individual treatment rooms and gait training area for patients who need to undergo post-prosthetic exercise or to recover from nervous system injuries. It can accommodate about 30 patients availing of physical therapy every month. “The new facility will help patients to confidently recover and function to their full potential, so they can regain their independence and dignity,” said Catherine Fry, ICRC health delegate in Mindanao. She added that the physiotherapy clinic will strengthen the capability of the physical rehabilitation center. DJF is a non-profit organization that provides physical rehabilitation services to amputees and other people with disabilities. It mainly caters to people from Mindanao, a region affected by conflict and insecurity. The ICRC has been referring war-wounded patients to the foundation since 2000.
Last year, the ICRC supported the upgrade of DJF’s workshop as it shifted to polypropylene technology, which produces prosthetic and orthotic devices more quickly and that are more durable and easier to maintain. In 2011, a gait training area where patients could practice using their new prostheses was built with ICRC assistance. In the first quarter of 2013, more than 160 patients received services in this center while 41 polypropylene prostheses have been delivered to the amputees. One of the technicians is studying in a recognized school of prosthesis in Cambodia with a full sponsorship from the ICRC. The ICRC is a neutral and impartial humanitarian organization that assists and protects victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence. This year, it continues its assistance to weapon-wounded persons by prepositioning medical materials in 17 hospitals in conflict-prone areas of Mindanao. The organization also covers the medical costs of some vulnerable/indigent patients injured due to armed violence. The ICRC also works with jail authorities to improve the delivery of health care services within detention facilities and strengthen the links with referral civilian health facilities.