ISSUE NO. 09, PIA-AKLAN BALITA, MAY 1-15, 2019 .pdf

Volume VII

Issue 09

KALIBO, AKLAN, (PIA) – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Aklan reiterates important reminders with few days left before the May 13 national and local elections.

In a radio interview, Comelec-Aklan Information Officer Crispin Raymund “Dodoy” Gerardo appealed to the voters to observe proper shading on their ballots and be careful not to taint and crumple them.

Gerardo stressed that mere dot, or a check or cross is invalid; only the fully shaded ballot will be appreciated by the Vote Counting Machine (VCM). Special pen or marker will be provided by the Comelec.

He also reminded the voting public to only shade the required number of candidates for every position.

Overvoting is not allowed as the VCM will not appreciate the votes with more shaded candidates than what is required in each position.

On the other hand, undervoting or shading less than the required votes in each position will be allowed as the VCM will read such number of votes.

After the ballot is inserted in the

VCM, it will produce a receipt wherein voters could check and verify the correctness of their voted candidates.

“The receipt is for your eyes only,” Gerado emphasized, adding that such receipt could not be brought home nor be taken picture. Instead the receipt should be dropped in the designated box before leaving the precinct.

Cellphones are allowed, however it

KALIBO, Aklan, (PIA) -- Trade exhibits are still effective in marketing local products, said the Department of Trade and Industry.

DTI 6 regional director Rebecca M. Rascon, who was then DTI-Aklan’s provincial director in 1998 when the first Fiber Festival was held as one of the big activities of the province in celebration of Aklan Day, said she is surprised that there are already 80 exhibitors and 17 local government units who joined the Fiber Festival now that are showcasing

their producvts under the One Town, One Product (OTOP) program.

Rascon also lauded Aklan for having the One Aklan, Want Aklan marketing platform, which enables the province’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to sell their products online.

“You are the first to develop such kind of marketing platform,” she said.

She also informed the audience of the two OTOP hubs which the DTI will be

KALIBO, Aklan, (PIA) -- A total of 390,360 Aklanon voters will be trooping to various voting centers in the province for the May 13, 2019, midterm national and local elections.

This is based on the Consolidated Project of Precincts provided by the Office of the Provincial Election Supervisor of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) here.

Aklan has 17 municipalities with 327

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May 1 - 15, 2019 should be kept just inside the pocket and should not be used to take pictures of the ballot and take selfies inside the polling places.

Gerardo encouraged voters to bring ‘kodigo’ to polling centers to save time and speed up the process of voting.

Meanwhile, the province of Aklan is presently under ‘green category’ or no areas with any security concerns. The province is considered generally peaceful.

Aklan has 560 clustered precincts to be used this coming elections and has a total of 390,360 registered voters. (LTP/ SQP-PIA Aklan)

barangays and on election day, Aklanons will be voting 2 congressional representatives for the first time as the province has now two districts first legislative district composed of Altavas, Banga, Batan, Balete, Libacao, Madalag, Kalibo and New Washington; and second legislative districts composed of Numancia, Malinao, Lezo, Makato, Tangalan, Ibajay, Nabas, Buruanga, and Malay.

Based on the list, Kalibo, the province’s capital town, has the biggest number of registered voters with 51,070, followed by Malay, with 40,913; Ibajay, with 30,949; New Washington, with 30,415; and Banga, with 27,931.

Both Kalibo and Malay are first class municipalities of Aklan.

Other Aklan towns and their respective number of registered voters are Batan, with 23,729; Nabas, 22,962; Numancia, 22,781; Makato, 20,063;Libacao, 18,919; Balete, 18,111; Altavas, 17,448; Malinao, 15,758; Tangalan, 14, 399; Madalag,12,836; Buruanga, 12,409; and Lezo,9,667.

The province has a total of 2,543 established precincts with 560 clustered or group precincts and 328 polling places. (JBG/VGV/PIA6 Aklan)

PIA AKLAN BALITA

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Vol. No. VII Issue No. 09

“The Philippines is under a free trade enterprise. Prices are set by companies, not by the government,” said Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon M. Lopez on the determination of prices of goods in the market.

“For basic necessities and prime commodities (BNPC), however, DTI’s role is to help temper any price increase to protect the consumers, noting that there are only 9 basic necessities and 12 prime commodity items under the Price Act. The government closely monitors their prices as mandated by law and negotiates with manufacturers on the most reasonable price adjustments based on production cost movements. DTI studies the justifications based on the most reasonable cost to consumers while ensuring a fair return of investment for business. After negotiation, DTI finalizes and publishes the SRPs and closely monitors retail trade for compliance,” he added.

Last Saturday, the Department released the latest SRP list of BNPCs for the guidance and information of consumers and retailers.

"The recent SRP list showed that only 26 out of 235 Shelf Keeping Units (SKUs) have increased their prices, which is only 11% of the total SKUs that we monitor. The remaining 209 SKUs or 89% of the total products listed in the SRP bulletin did not increase. 17 out of the 26 SKUs (65%) that adjusted in prices have less than Php1.00 increase," explained Trade Secretary Lopez.

He further added, "Business principles dictate that companies do not necessarily increase their prices easily as they are also afraid of losing patronage to competition. As much as possible, manu-

WESTERN Visayas Consortium for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (WVCIEERD)elected Central Philippines State University’s President Dr. Aladino C. Moraca as the new chairperson succeeding the 8-year service of West Visayas State University’s (WVSU) President Dr. Luis M. Sorolla, Jr. The election was conducted during the 1st Research and Development Executive Committee Meeting of the WVCIEERD held last May 10, 2019 at Eon Centennial Plaza Hotel where Iloilo

facturers absorb rising production costs to keep their loyal customers.”

For canned sardines, its major raw material that is tamban (herring)is now priced at Php32.00 to Php34.00 per kilo.

Prices of wheat flour, carton, wrappers, and seasoning have also increased and affected the prices of instant noodles.

Raw and imported vinegar, and fish extract pushed upward the prices of condiments while warehousing and logistics affected cost of toilet soap.

The DTI noted that there was even a delayed price increase for some of these SKUs due to the three-month hold off that manufacturers accommodated last year to mitigate the effects of rising inflation on food prices. If these price adjustment requests are held off again, the

The Department of Trade and Industry will be holding “Balik-Eskwela Diskwento Sale” project this May 2019 in following towns and schedule: Municipality Date Address Altavas May 14

Plaza, Poblacion, Altavas

Nabas

May 16

Covered Court, Poblacion, Nabas

Libacao May 23

Plaza. Poblacion, Libacao

The project aims at providing the consuming public, particularly students

DTI says this may result to bigger price increases, business closure and job losses in the future.

Nevertheless, consumers still get to choose among cheaper variants since majority of the SKUs in the SRP list did not increase their prices. Commodities such as processed milk, coffee refill, coffee 3-in-1, bread, detergent/laundry soap, candles, canned meat, and batteries all retained their previous SRPs. The DTI vows to continue its intensified monitoring and enforcement efforts to ensure the reasonableness of prices and adequacy of supply of basic and prime goods in the market.

Consumers are advised to refer to the SRP list in doing their purchases and to report to the DTI any deviation from the published prices that are observed in groceries and supermarkets. Reports may be coursed through the DTI Consumer Care Hotline 1-384 (1-DTI) or email, consumercare@dti.gov.ph. (DTIAklan)

and parents, better access and affordable prices of basic necessities, prime commodities, school supplies and other school items at discounted prices.

Parents are enjoined to come to the Diskwento Sale as opening of the school year is fast approaching. Affordable and practical items will be available during the Diskwento Sale that will definitely help parents stretch their budget for their kid’s school needs.

Twenty (20) distributors and retailers were invited to participate in this caravan. A discount of 5-10% on selected items can be availed of by the consumers during the activity. (DTI-Aklan)

ties and colleges in Western Visayas.

They are the leading institutions that are conducting R&D activities related to Industry, Energy, and other Emerging Technologies in the region.(DOST6/ State College of Fisheries’ (ISCOF) JRAGabiota) (Photos: DOST6/ President Dr. Godelyn G. Hisole was WVCIEERD) also elected as the vice chairperson of the consortium.

Moraca and Hisole will be serving the consortium for three (3) years.

In the meeting, the memberinstitutions had their ceremonial signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to reaffirm their commitments to WVCIEERD. At present, WVCIEERD is composed of 21 member-institutions which are mostly government and private universi-

PIA AKLAN BALITA

Vol. No. VII Issue No. 09

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From page 01 establishing in Kalibo and at D’ Mall in Boracay, emphasizing that Aklan is the first province to have two such hubs.

She also mentioned the presence of an OTOP Kiosk at the Kalibo International Airport (KIA) where foreign and domestic tourists alike could buy “pasalubong” items.

Rascon, together with Aklan officials led by governor Florencio T. Miraflores and vice governor Reynaldo Quimpo,

said DTI-Aklan’s past and present provincial directors, guests, buyers and exhibitors, graced the opening of the 21st Aklan Piña and Fiber Festival here .

For his part, Miraflores, remembering the humble beginnings of the festival where it is held anywhere in the vicinity of the Provincial Capitol depending on space availability, assured the stakeholders to assign a permanent showroom for Aklan products so that tourists arriving in Aklan can visit and buy before

PAGE 03 going to Boracay Island or to any other tourist destination in the province.

Various products were showcased as the festival opened on April 24 to 29.

Featured at the trade fair are indigenous fibers and crafts, gift items, housewares, and furnishings, processed food, pasalubong, and health and wellness products.

“Exploring Digital Opportunities to Maximize Growth” is the theme of this year’s Aklan Pina and Fiber Festival.

(JBG/VGV/PIA 6 Aklan)