EDGEDAVAO
SUBURBIA
VOL. 6 ISSUE 84 • THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2013
3
Region 11 remains top priority in counter-insurgency campaign A
RMY chief Lt. General Noel Coballes affirmed that Davao Region remains a top priority area in the anti-insurgency campaign in the country. He said that recent development like the continued activities of the rebels in the area remain a security concern for the government. Coballes said the status of the region as a venue of the anti- insurgency campaign will change only depending on the assessment of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, particularly on the dwindling dissent in the area. On the abduction of five soldiers who remain in the hands of the rebels in Paquibato District, he said that the Army will not negotiate for the freedom of the captives, stressing that the government does not negotiate with terror groups. However, Coballes said that a negotiation is being pursued by an-
other group for the safe release of the soldiers. “We remain firm in our policy not to negotiate with terrorists,” he said. Coballes was in Davao City to listen to the regular meeting of the Philippine Army Multi-Sector Advisory Board where genuine reforms in the ranks are being pursued based on governance and strong-private-public partnership. The meeting aimed to allow the Army to showcase significant achievements of operational and tactical units relative to the Army Transformation Roadmap and Internal Peace and Security Plan implementation. It also showcased the disaster response and rehabilitation convergence efforts of Army units and civilian-stakeholders in the area of responsibility of the 10th Infantry Division. [PIA 11/Joey Sem G. Dalumpines]
READING PROGRAM. A participant recites some examples of micronutrient fortified foods during the Pabasa sa Nutrisyon activity of Plan International in Barangay Dapnan, Baganga, Davao Oriental. In partnership with the
STO TOMAS, DAVAO DEL NORTE
Mayor to work for hospital, roads T
HE former village chief who is now the Mayor of Santo Tomas has vowed to set up a public emergency hospital and seek help for concreting of circumferential roads connecting the town to nearby areas. Newly-installed Municipal Mayor Benigno Andamon in an interview remained true to his campaign promises of setting up a public emergency hospital with medical doctors serving on a 24-hour
basis to attend to emergency and other health needs of his constituents. Andamon, said he sympathized with Sto. Tomas residents who he said usually would be driven out-of-town to seek medical treatment even on slight injuries and ailments which could have otherwise been treated easily. “Dalhon dayon sa ambulansiya, gasto sa fuel,” (it will be transported by ambulance, we will be spending much on fuel) he told
GENERAL SANTOS CITY
media practitioners. He divulged plans of seeking the assistance of Department of Health Assistant Sec. Romulo Busuego chief of hospital of the DRH (Davao Regional Hospital) to make use of the 4,000 square meters of lot in Sto. Tomas to build the emergency facility. Meanwhile, Andamon also revealed the program of works he had already tasked the municipal engineer to do for the circumferential road from
Sto. Tomas to nearby town of Braulio E. Dujali worth P230 million and the P47 million road concreting from his town to Tagum City. He bared having made a letter of request for Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson, pushing for the realization of road network concreting projects, benefiting Sto. Tomas. [PIA 11/ Jeanevive Duron-Abangan]
4 more GenSan residents test positive for HIV; documented cases now 81 F
OUR more residents have tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the last five weeks, bringing the total number of cases in the area to 81, a local health official said. Dr. Mely Lastimoso, coordinator of the City Integrated Health Services Office’s (CIHSO) Social Hygiene Clinic, said the new cases involved
“professionals” who volunteered to undergo HIV screening at the clinic. HIV is a lentivirus or slowly replicating retrovirus that causes the deadly Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), a disease characterized by a progressive failure of the immune system, medical references said. Lastimoso said the infections were confirmed through tests conduct-
ed by the Department of Health’s (DOH) STD (sexually-transmitted diseases)/AIDS Cooperative Central Laboratory in Manila for confirmatory tests. “For now, we have 81 documented cases. The figure has been increasing mainly because a lot of people have been signing up for the HIV tests and we have existing facilities that offer these services for free,” she said.
The city government earlier stepped up its campaign for voluntary HIV testing among residents as part of their efforts to help curb the spread of the disease. The HIV/AIDS screening are done free and confidential through the social hygiene clinic, which is located within the city hospital compound. [Allen V. Estabillo/MindaNews]
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Pabasa sa Nutrisyon is an informal group discussion on nutrition information and child care, and is implemented in all barangays of the municipality.
DAVAO DEL NORTE
Prov’l LGU to auction tax delinquent real properties
T
HE Provincial Government of Davao del Norte is set to conduct public auction of delinquent real properties in the province this year. Provincial Treasurer Regina Ricafort said the province will start this month the process of auctioning the overdue properties regardless of how much their delinquencies are. “We are set to issue this month the demand letters, as well as, publish the sale or auction of the first batch of tax delinquent real properties in the province,” she said. She revealed the Provincial Public Auction Committee (PPAC) has scheduled the first auction of delinquent real properties either on the last week of October or on the first or second weeks of November this year. Governor Rodolfo del Rosario created the PPAC through Executive Order No. 03 in order to assist the Provincial Treasurer’s Office (PTO) in intensifying the proper collection of overdue taxes, fees and charges imposed in the real property tax delinquents. The Local Government Code has authorized the
PTO to sell tax delinquent real properties at public auction. The governor said the levy on property and public auction is a wake up call for property owners to really settle their back taxes. He urged the property owners to immediately pay their unpaid taxes so they would not be included in the delinquent tax payers list. As much as he doesn’t want any real property to be forfeited, Del Rosario, however, said that the public auction will redound to the benefit of the province. Aside from generating more revenues for local government units, the governor enthused the measure will make the idle lands, particularly those owned by the absentee landlords, to be productive. He stressed the importance of collecting the back taxes to secure more income that would fund the development programs and projects of the province. “The bigger the collection, the better the income and the better services we can provide to our people,” he said.[ Noel Baguio]