Metro CDOTIMES (October 18-24, 2021)

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CAGAYANLifestyle TIMES Weekly DE ORO

Volume 9 | No. 11 | Cagayan de Oro City | October 18-24, 2021

A plate of dragon fruit, a bottle of dragon fruit wine, and Thou (photo courtesy of Angie Derequito Torniado)

Freshly harvested dragon fruits from the Sayre Highlands Resort at Sitio Mahayag, Brgy.

Digkilaan, Manticao, Misamis Oreintal.

Dragon Lord of the Mahangub Highlands

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By MIKE BAÑOS

HERE’S more to the Mahangub Highlands Integrated Farm than meets the eye, far more than your usual tourist destination.

Owned by Elmer Velasco Sayre and his family, and now styled as the Sayre Highlands Resort, you can find it in Sitio Mahayag, Barangay Digkilaan in Manticao, Misamis Oriental.

A B.S. Agriculture graduate of the Xavier University-Ateneo Dragon fruit plants at the Sayre Highlands Resort.

de Cagayan College of Agriculture, Sayre envisions the Sayre Highlands Resort as no mere farm-tour destination, but rather a training and outreach facility for his various advocacies.

“With the restrictions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the mountains offers a respite, a means to re-charge ones soul and spirit, and learn something new,” Sayre said. “I am just starting to build a few huts with

basic necessities where visitors can relax and enjoy, developing a modest children’s playground and a place where campers and adventurers can stay for the night, and establish a modest karaoke and library hub.”

“A farm during this time is ideal because the wide spaces and distance from each other can easily be maintained in order to avoid close contact without fear of the virus.”

Fruit of the Dragon Although it is becoming increasingly common in the Philippines, not many people know that dragon fruit (also known as pitahaya and strawberry pear) is the fruit of various varieties of cacti belonging to the genus Selenicereus (formerly Hylocereus), both in the family Cactaceae.

Sweet pitahayas come in three types, all with leathery, slightly leafy skin with prominent scaly spikes on the fruit exterior which most probably gave rise to the “dragon fruit”

Your choice, fresh dragon fruit, wine, jam or ice cream. Elmer Sayre does agricultural extension the fun way.

moniker.

The most common dragon fruit is Selenicereus undatus (Pitaya blanca or white-fleshed pitaya, also known as Hylocereus undatus) a pink-skinned fruit with white flesh. The red-skinned fruit with red flesh is Selenicereus costaricensis (Pitaya roja or red-fleshed pitaya, also

known as Hylocereus costaricensis), while Selenicereus megalanthus (Pitaya amarilla or yellow pitaya, also known as Hylocereus megalanthus) is the yellowskinned fruit with white flesh.

The fruit normally weighs from 150 to 600 grams although some may

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weigh as much as a kilo.

Dragon fruit is cultivated in Mexico, Southeast Asia, India, the United States, the Caribbean, Australia, Mesoamerica and throughout tropical and subtropical world regions.

Sayre started growing dragon fruit in early 2019 MAHANGUB/PAGE 7

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CAGAYANTIMES Lifestyle Weekly DE ORO

October 18-24, 2021

Ryan Cayabyab

Imelda Papin

Rico Puno

A German Expat in the Philippines

By Klaus Döring

The Music of My Life IV

In the years that followed, the music of my life became more and more the music of the Philippines. Maybe it was because of the first radio shows I presented. The music archive was full of Filipino music, but it was rarely broadcast.

I thought that was a shame.

I asked myself: What makes Filipino music unique? My radio colleagues gave me an answer: such is the case of Philippine music which until today is regarded as a unique

blending of two great musical traditions – the East and the West. The majority of Philippine Music revolves around cultural influences from the West, due primarily to the Spanish and American rule for over three centuries.

I learned from musicologist and professor of the University of the Philippines, College of Music, that after studying abroad, modern methods of composition were employed by Eliseo Pajaro and Lucresia

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DANTE SUDARIA Publisher MIKE BAÑOS Editor-in-Chief SUSAN P. DENNIS GEAN T. CESAR RANDY FAMACION MAI MAI SISON KLAUS DORING ANNIE GORRA RAGO WENDY RAMOS-GARCIA Contributing Editors CLIFFORD SANTILLAN Layout Artist PINKY DOMINGO Marketing KHRISTHA RIVA FELICILDA Advertising ATTY. MARIO T. JUNI Legal Counsel The Metro CAGAYAN de ORO TIMES newspaper is published weekly at Tanleh Bldg., Abellanosa Street, Consolacion, Cagayan de Oro City.

It is registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 10 with Certificate No. 01801884, and with Business Registration Plane No. 17211 with Business License Certificate 2014-00691. TIN No. 311-982-549-000 Tele/Fax #: (088) 856-3344 Find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CagayandeOroTIMES email us at thecagayandeorotimes@gmail.com Member: Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (Oro Chamber)

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Kasilag. Both were strongly influenced

by American neoclassicism.

Jose Maceda is considered the first legitimate Filipino avant-garde composer.

He was the first Filipino composer to succeed in liberating Philippine musical expression from the colonial European mold of symphonies, sonatas, and concertos.

Among the younger generation of composers, the first to respond to the challenges of new music were Francisco Feliciano and Ramon Santos.

A still younger set of composers, all students of Santos includes Josefino Toledo, Ruben Federizon, Verne de la Pena, Arlene Chongson, and Jonas Baes. Since the 1950’s to the present, the trend of serious musical compositions in the Philippines has been towards a synthesis of traditional concepts of structure, of time, of space, of melody, of performance medium with the new and experimental techniques.

Then, I met Ryan Cayabyab (born Raymundo Cipriano Pujante Cayabyab; May 4, 1954), also known as Mr. C - a Filipino musician, composer

and conductor. His compositional style makes much use of syncopation, extended chords, and chromatic harmony. He was the Executive and Artistic Director for several years for the defunct San Miguel Foundation for the Performing Arts. He was named as National Artist of the Philippines for Music in 2018. His musical output consists of several masses, award winning film and television scores, short symphonic works, ten full-length Filipino musicals, a major opera, full length ballets, solo and instrumental works, orchestrations of Filipino folk, popular and love songs. I was fascinated by his stage performances.

During her Europe tour, Imelda Papin

crossed my way. Imelda Arcilla Papin (born January 26, 1956) - a Filipino singer and one of the bigger names in the Philippine music industry. Dubbed the "Sentimental Songstress", Imelda Papin is responsible for songs such as "Bakit (Kung Liligaya Ka Sa Piling Ng Iba)" and "Isang Linggong Pagibig".

In 2018, legend Rico Puno died. I experienced him, the naughty-mouthed macho guapito and total entertainer, as he was described in 2005 during his performances in the Apo View Hotel in Davao City. "Grabe".

The "Godfather of Pinoy Soul” passed away too early.

My encounters with Filipino music

of all kinds were so colorful with the colors of a rainbow. During some of my stays in Manila, the Madrigal Singers performed the Philippine and German National Anthem.

Goosebumps .

During their first performance in Berlin, I got tears in my eyes.

Filipino pop music, otherwise known as Original Pilipino Music or OPM, refers broadly to the pop music that first emerged in the Philippines in the early ’70s and has since come to dominate radio airplay and karaoke playlists in the Filipino market and beyond. But my radio shows brought me back to the classics

by Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Bach, Händel more and more.

(To be continued)

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CAGAYANTIMES Billboard DE ORO

October 18-24, 2021

Page 3

Visit Watsons stores on October 28, 2021, because Japonesa is giving its best treat ever!

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KINCARE might be one of our biggest concerns lately apart from our immune response and the upcoming elections (wink!), but what if we tell you that we already found that one single skincare step that will surely fend away your worries like acne breakouts, dry skin, and dark spots?

Continue reading as we reveal that single step and the best treat that you can grab in selected Watsons stores in the entire region or via the Watsons Online App. Acne Breakouts versus Japonesa’s Lactoferrin

harbor, that is why your skin requires a special ingredient to delay signs of aging, and this is in form of Probiotics and here’s what Jamias has to say “The powerful Probiotics inside every bar of Japonesa reduces age spots and fine lines by repairing stressed skin and stimulating skin renewal.

Furthermore, Japonesa has Collagen that helps tighten the skin, making it look younger with continued use.”

Dark Spots versus Japonesa’s Glutathione Glutathione is the most versatile Antioxidant, making it a requirement to achieve fair

If you have been suffering from Acne Breakouts, you have to look for a soap that has antibacterial properties and has the power to reduce inflammation. Thus, we came across Japonesa’s Lactoferrin and we asked their CEO & Cosmetic Scientist MJ Jamias how this wonderful ingredient helps in reducing acne breakouts: “Lactoferrin has something to do with skin health it nourishes our skin by enhancing the skin’s natural defense against bacteria, works as an anti-inflammatory regimen, and antioxidant, thus making it a powerful ingredient to save our skin from acne”.

Aging Skin versus Japonesa’s Probiotics Our skinPH increases as we age, making it drier and allowing bad bacteria to

and brighter skin, but can this special ingredient reduce dark spots over your skin? We know we’re supposed to get her expert opinion and here it is: “Using Japonesa with potent Glutathione increases the skin’s production of melanin, that brightens the skin and minimizes dark spots.”

Your major skincare worries are no match to one single step approach of Japonesa® Probiotic Soap, and to stop you from contemplating whether you’ll BUY NOW or buy later, we’re giving you a gift for every 3 bars of soap purchased in Watsons retail stores or online app.

Catch us here: https://www. watsons.com.ph/naturallightening-soap-120g/p/ BP_50001836 Hey, the freebie lasts until November 3, 2021!

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CAGAYANTIMES Lifestyle Weekly DE ORO

The 1ST OTH Lifestyle Store to finally open in the South October 18-24, 2021

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AGONG Bayan, Q.C., October 12, 2021. OTH Lifestyle Co. Inc. will be opening its doors for the first time on November 8, 2021, 10am at Unit 4 (3rd floor -Cyberzone in SM Southmall).

The public is invited to celebrate the occasion and to experience the Store-As-A-Service Platform concept firsthand.

As what OTH Lifestyle Store believes in the supremacy of the product, it doesn’t change the shopping process but it changes how a product is presented -- by beginning with a concept.

OTH Co Incorporated

is proud to share what they have discovered and assures the public that they will be adhering to the safety guidelines provided: “We figured out something about retail that no one else has, a “store-as-a-service platform.” If you visit one of our stores, you will notice a difference since we have gone to great lengths to eliminate the notion that your visit is only for the purpose of just purchasing a product.”

“We understand that some of us are not confident in attending physical events at the moment due to the country’s COVID-19 situation. For your safety and the safety

of our guests, we are proceeding with the following precautions and safety measures, we will be adhering to the guidelines to make sure this event is safe for everyone.”

The Grand opening event includes the latest gadgets sale and promos from various brands such as UGREEN, ENHANCE, GO GADGETS, SIER by OTH, OTH TECH, and more.

Fun pocket activities also await – from different mini games, giveaways, raffles and more. Plenty of other surprises are expected throughout the day and people may have the chance to win at OTH’s contests on the following

days.

Special guests are also expected to arrive as OTH invited some Tech reviewers and influencers to hail the event. They will be sharing their experiences about living the OTH lifestyle to inspire aspirants.

OTH Lifestyle’s grand opening giveaways are not just limited to the physical store, they also have online promos too.

They are also offering exclusive offers on the website at www. othlifestyle.com/ and on its Facebook page www.facebook.com/ othlifestyleph, so that individuals can also experience OTH Lifestyle even from the comfort of their homes.

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Feature

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5

Cagayan de Oro cited with 3rd Galing Pook Award October 18-24, 2021

LGUs’ pandemic programs ‘primary standards’ in 2021 Galing Pook Awards Cagayan de Oro City was named as among the Top 10 Outstanding Galing Pook Awardees for 2021 during the virtual awarding ceremony, October 20, 2021 co-presented by SM Prime and the DILG Philippines-Local Government Academy.

The city’s entry “Health is Worth Fighting For, Cagayan de Oro Health Journey” was among this year’s best and most innovative local governance programs that exemplified citizens’ participation, and delivered positive results and impact.

The entry highlighted how the city managed its health system including the JR Borja General Hospital, health centers, free hospitalization thru health insurance, the construction of the Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease (CEREID) during the pandemic and the construction of two hospitals in the city’s two legislative districts.

The city also received the Galing Pook Award in 2017 and 2018.

Cagayan de Oro City has won the prestigious Galing Pook Award of 2021 for its amazing City Health Services Modernization and Accessibility Program!

This is the 3rd time that the city has received the said award, under the leadership of Mayor Oscar Moreno.

LGU finalists with outstanding initiatives are carefully selected and the awardees are then chosen from a national search of local governance programs, evaluated through a multilevel rigorous screening process based on positive results and impact, promotion of people’s participation and empowerment,

innovation, transferability, and sustainability, and efficiency of program service delivery.

The best practices of local government units in their pandemic response emerged as among the primary standards in choosing this year’s 2021 Galing Pook Awards.

In a statement, Former Interior Secretary and Galing Pook Foundation chairperson Mel Senen Sarmiento said the awards will honor services of LGUs to their constituents who are grappling with the pandemic Galing Pook Awards went to a hiatus in pandemic-hit year 2020 but was relaunched in February 2021 to recognize LGUs that showed “adaptiveness, innovation, resiliency, and excellence.”

Despite the hiatus, the awards received 200 nominations, the highest since it started in 1993.

The application was closed last June 30 while the awarding ceremony was set in October.

“Our nation’s success and failure in dealing with the pandemic depends largely on the ability and inability of our LGUs to properly respond to

various challenges that come with the present health crisis. I’ve seen so many outstanding innovations that made a difference to our people,” Sarmiento said.

The awarding ceremony will be held in October which also marks the 30th year of enactment of the

Local Government Code.

Does your local government unit (LGU) have a program or programs that provide adaptive innovations that addresses/address specific challenges in your areas or constituents? If so, what are you waiting for? Join AWARDS/PAGE 7

Empowering villages through Budget Reform key to reducing PH Budget Deficit Local government units should have increased participation in the development of projects for their respective areas.

Presidential bet Senator Panfilo M. Lacson and his running mate, Senate President Vicente Sotto III says they will put focus on budget reform to empower even the smallest of villages.

Lacson notes that the current set-up leaves LGUs out of the equation when they are in fact in the best position to know what the people really need.

Lacson cited as an example a project carried out in a province by the national government, where the LGU asked for the concreting of the main road. But what they got instead was a road widening project. In the end, only the two sides of the road were concreted, and only tricycles could

use it, while the middle remained a dirt road.

Lacson noted far-flung villages are often left in the dust because of the huge disconnect between the LGUs and the national budget.

Lacson says that LGUs, through their Local Development Councils, should have a bigger say in national budget

deliberations.

Planning and funding should be from the bottom up, not top to bottom.

This way, the LGUs can get the appropriate budget that they need, not just 20% of what is allocated to them, like what is happening right now under the current system.

As an example, Lacson

cited the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)'s compliance with the Supreme Court and Malacanang's directives to devolve certain functions - and funds - to the local government units for 2022 Lacson noted that in the DPWH's proposed P686.1-billion budget for 2022, it is still the central

office that handles funds for items and projects which should have already been devolved and implemented by LGUs. “While there was an 89-percent decrease from funds for local programs, there was an increase of 232 percent for convergence and special support programs," he said at the hearing for the DPWH's 2022 budget.

"They are compliant on paper but in reality they are not complying.

That’s my point," he stressed.

At first glance, Lacson noted the DPWH appears to comply with the Supreme Court's Mandanas Ruling by decreasing its budget for local programs by 88.9 percent, with the assumption that the programs and funds will be handled by the LGUs. Thus, the 2021

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budget item "Various Infrastructure Including Local Projects" (VILPs) is no longer present under the DPWH FY 2022 budget to comply with the devolution efforts.

Yet, projects of the same nature are lodged under their program, "Convergence and Special Support Program," which had a 232-percent increase.

"Different nomenclature but exactly the same program...

Nothing is being devolved here," he said, adding his scrutiny showed the actual budget decrease for the DPWH was only 5.8 percent.

No LGU Particpation Lacson also questioned the DPWH officials present on the role of LGUs in the planning phase of all these programs under the DPWH's operations budget.

REFORM/PAGE 7

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CAGAYANTIMES Halloween Tales DE ORO

October 18-24, 2021

Page 6

Don’t Open the Door after Midnight

By TITO MIKE

Shortly after I got married in 1985, I worked as a medical representative for a German-based pharmaceutical company with Cagayan de Oro City, Bukidnon, Eastern Misamis Oriental and Gingoog City as my assigned territory.

I would make my rounds of Cagayan de Oro for two weeks, take a week long trip to cover Eastern Misamis Oriental and Gingoog City, and another week for Bukidnon from Manolo Fortich to Kibawe.

During these monthly trips to Bukidnon, I often hitched a ride in the Volkswagen Beetle of a fellow detail man whom we shall call Jean.

During the mid1980s, the roads in Bukidnon left much to

be desired. The asphalted portion terminated at Malaybalay City and from thereon to Valencia (still a municipality) and beyond to Kibawe, the Sayre Highway was a two lane graveled road which threw up clouds of dust in summer and turned to a muddy morass during the rainy season.

But this story isn’t about Jean or me, but about his supervisor, a veteran detail man who was now Mindanao Manager whom we shall name Eadgar. Ed was an easy going fellow, and often regaled us with tales of the bad old days of detailing in Bukidnon, when the roads where even worse, and med reps often had to sleep in the residence of the doctors in their call list for want of a suitable motel or

pension house in the immediate vicinity.

It was during one such sojourn in a distant barrio of Manolo Fortich that Ed was invited to stay with a doctor, since it was getting late when he called, and there was no pension house or inn he could sleep over during that time.

After they had taken dinner, his physician friend told Ed he could sleep in the couch in the living room with one proviso: under no circumstance was he to open the door after the midnight, no matter who was knocking on the door.

“Bakit po?” Ed asked (who was a Tagalog from Batangas). “Paano kung may emergency?”

“Ah, basta huwag na huwag mong buksan ang pintuan pagkatapos ng hating gabi!” (Under no

Even by the late 1970s, not much had changed from the Sayre Highway in Manolo Fortich since it was constructed in the early 1940s.

circumstances should you open the door after midnight, no matter who is calling or what they’re saying) the doctor replied.

After a shared beer or two following dinner, the doctor excused himself and Ed went to sleep in the couch which his host had provided with some pillows and a blanket.

Being exhausted from the day’s calls and further bolstered by two beers, Ed instantly fell asleep but was rudely awakened by a frantic knocking at the door not quite three hours later.

“Doctor! Doctor!” a voice called from the outside. “Palihug tabang!

Nagsakit akong amahan ug dili na kabakod!

Maluoy ka Doctor!

(Doctor, please help! My father is sick and cannot stand anymore! Have pity Doctor!)

Ed was up in an instant and was about to open the door when he remembered what his host warned him about and stayed put.

However, the knocking

at the door did not cease, but became even more frantic, until Ed could no longer stand it and went to the doctor’s bedroom where he knocked and asked, “Doc! Paano iyan?

Baka delikado na iyong pasyente niyo?” (Doc, what now? Your patient might already be in dire straits?”)

His sleepy host opened the door and irately told him, “Di ba sabi ko sa iyo huwag mo pansinin kung sino man kumatok basta’t hating gabi na? Matulog ka na nga!” (Didn’t I tell you now to bother answering the door after midnight?

Go back to sleep!”)

Mystified and a bit upset about the whole thing, Ed slowly went back to his couch but the knocking on the door continued unabated. After a few minutes, it resumed with even more vigor, but instead of a human voice, he now heard what he swears was a series of growls and hisses, followed by a scratching on the door,

The Sayre Highway in Mangima in Dalirig-Tankulan, Manolo Fortich drops down then rises by as much as 400 meters.

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as if someone was running his fingernails across the wood.

It took quite some time for the racket from outside to subside and eventually in the wee hours of the morning after much tossing and turning, Ed finally dropped off to sleep from sheer exhaustion.

In the morning after breakfast with his kind host, he took his leave and left for the day’s rounds for the further parts of the province.

However, before he left the premises, he couldn’t resist sneaking a look at the door which was the source of all the commotion the night before. His eyes widened and he felt the hairs on the nape of his neck stand on their ends and a shiver run down his spine at what he saw.

There were several streaks on the wood which looked as if someone with a rake or really long fingernails scratched repeatedly at the door.

He told us he couldn’t remember seeing them the night before since it was quite dark already when he called on the doctor but he resisted going back to ask him about them and instead quickly hurried to his car and left the property as fast as he decently could, making the sign of the cross and repeatedly muttering the Lord’s prayer under his breath.

Needles to say, he never slept at that residence again, choosing instead to call on the doctor and leave early.

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CAGAYANTIMES Lifestyle Weekly DE ORO

Mahangub... from page 1

after he dropped by a dragon fruit plantation in Zamboanga del Sur. “I interviewed the dragon fruit farmer and she said that dragon fruit is a very lucrative and high-valued crop because of its many health benefits, and demand and prices for it is always high,” he recalls.

Prior to this, Sayre was growing vegetables in his 8-hectare farm, but had issues with the highly fluctuating market, high usage of pesticides, low shelf-life of some vegetables, and savvy traders reaping profits at the farmers’ expense by dictating low prices.

“At that time I did not know of any farmer raising dragon fruit in commercial scale in Misamis Oriental, so I decided to do a trial crop with about 200 posts. Dragon fruits are grown in concrete posts supported by a used tire on top,” he explained.

Sayre figured that with 200 posts, he would be ensured of a sufficient

supply of cuttings for expansion if the venture proved successful.

Although they can also be grown from seeds, dragon fruit is best grown from cuttings of a mature plant.

“In 2020, I harvested my first crop and true enough, demand was indeed very high, with my harvest practically sold out at the farm, and only a few fruits sold to neighbors in our place in Initao town,” he recalls with a smile.

Even though he sold his dragon fruit at only P100 per kilo (vs. the market price of P150 at the time), Sayre still turned a handsome return from his first harvest of 600 kilos.

He immediately stopped growing vegetables and focused on expanding his dragon fruit plantation with the mature cuttings from his first plants, side stepping the problem most often encountered by novice dragon fruit farmers.

The Sayre Highlands Encouraged by the fruits of his first harvest, Sayre decided

Awards...

October 18-24, 2021

from page 5

Dragon Fruit Cake by Arlene Taduran

to develop his farm into a resort with a twist, where visitors can enjoy the ambience of the mountains, see the plants growing, learn dragon fruit farming techniques, and come harvest time, taste the sweet, delectable fruits straight from the plants.

To further strengthen his various advocacies, the Sayre Highlands Resort is now an accredited Learning Site for Agriculture (LSA) by the Agricultural Training Institute-Regional Training Center 10 (ATIRTC 10) based in El Salvador City, as well as an accredited Learning Site of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) for 3 TECVOC Courses (Produce Organic Concoctions and Extracts, Produce Organic Fertilizer, and Produce Organic Vegetables).

In addition, Sayre researched downstream products to further encourage the long term demand for his harvest Roadside dragon fruit stand selling the farm’s produce. with dragon fruit wine,

ice cream, salad, pastries, and vinegar.

Although he has successfully grown some varieties of dragon fruit, his best-selling varieties are the Moroccan Red and Vietnamese White.

He is now also experimenting with LED lights to induce the growth of flowers during off-season to be able to supply dragon fruit to the market all year round.

“Starting October the dragon fruit seldom produces flowers due to the shorter availability of daylight. With the LED lights, hopefully we can induce the plants to continue producing flowers and fruits.

However, we need to maintain plant health and vigor in order for them to continue producing large fruits.”

Winter may be coming, but we have learned never to underestimate the Dragon Lord of the Mahangub Highlands, and he could just surprise us with the luscious fruit throughout the different seasons.

Elmer Sayre champions dragon fruit production and utilization through a Agristoryahay sa ATI Webinar Series (ATI Northern Mindanao)

the 2021 Galing Pook Awards.

The Galing Pook Awards was launched on October 21, 1993 as a pioneering program that searches for and recognizes innovative practices by local government units. Since then, at least 300 programs from more than 200 LGUs or local government alliances have been given recognition for the initiatives that produce positive results and impact, promotes people’s participation and empowerment, and showcases innovation, transferability and sustainability, and efficiency.

Beyond the awards, winning programs became models of good governance promoted for adoption in other communities.

They provided useful insights and strategies to find innovative solutions to common problems.

More importantly, they affirmed the community and the local government’s commitment to good governance.

For your program to be considered for the Galing Pook Awards, it must meet the following minimum requirements: It must have involved or engaged processes within a local government unit (barangay, municipality, city, or province) even if the program might have been initiated (either independently or jointly) by an NGO, CSO and/or an LGU; It must have been in operation for at least one year before the deadline of submission; and, It must have verifiable and significant results.

Eligible LGUs may be barangays, municipalities, cities or provinces either in their individual capacity or as part of local government alliances.

Multiple entries are allowed for each LGU. 3rd Galing Pook award nasakmit sa CDO DAKONG garbo ug kalipay ni Mayor Oscar Moreno ug sa CDO LGU ang pagsakmit sa ikatulong Galing Pook award kagahapo’ng adlawa, October 20, 2021 pinaagi sa entry “Health is Worth Fighting For, Cagayan de Oro Health Journey” pinaagi sa virtual celebration.

Ang maong entry nagpakita sa paningkamotan ug kalamboan ug pagdumala sa tibuok health system sa syudad ilabina ang kausaban sa JR Borja General Hospital, health centers, ang libreng hospitalization pinaagi sa health insurance, ang katukoran sa Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Disease (CEREID) panahon sa pandemya ug katukoran sa dugang 2 pa ka hospital alang sa una ug ikaduhang distrito sa Cagayan de Oro. Nasayran nga 150 ka mga local government units ang misalmot sa maong indigay diin 10 lamang ang pilion, ug lakip ang Cagayan de Oro sa mga mananaog.

Kini mao na ang ikatulong higayon nga nasakmit sa Cagayan de Oro ubos sa administrasyon ni Mayor Moreno ang Galing Pook award diin una nang nasakmit niadtong tuig 2017 alang sa entry nga “Rising Up from the Mud”, nga naghulagway sa resilience sa Kagay-anons sa pagbarog ug paningkamot sa kagamhanang local nga matabangan ang katawhan human sa trahedya nga dala ni TS Sendong.

Samtang gisundan na usab og laing Galing Pook award ang syudad sa tuig 2018 alang sa paglingkawas sa katawhan pinaagi sa pag-angkon og kaugalingong titulo sa ilang pinuy-anan.

Ang pagsakmit sa tulo ka mga Galing Pook award nagpakita ug nagpamatuod lamang sa tinuoray’ng serbisyo sa Moreno administration uban sa pag-abag ni Bise Mayor Kikang Uy ug sa majority bloc sa City Council.

(ACM/CIO)

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Reform...

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from page 5

"What participation did they have in the preparation of the 2022 budget under these Programs, Activities and Projects?" he asked.

Meanwhile, Lacson who has championed the needs and priorities of the local government units reiterated the Supreme Court's Mandanas Ruling should be a very good opportunity for LGUs to be technically capacitated.

"It is the time to activate the local development councils because over the past years, infrastructure projects of have been centrally managed by the national government," he said.

"Very little if at all ang participation ng LGUs. This is an opportune time to be compliant with the SC ruling and EO 138 issued by President Duterte," he added.

In relation to this, Lacson urged the Department of Social Welfare and Development to prioritize fifth and sixth-class municipalities in its Technical Assistance and Resource Augmentation (TARA) program.

In a Senate hearing on the DSWD's budget for 2022, Lacson said this would help ensure that the DSWD is able to maximize its funds for the program while benefiting the local government units that need assistance the most.

"One criterion I can think of is to prioritize assistance to the fifth and sixth-class municipalities. First-class municipalities likely do not need the assistance as much as they are already technically capacitated."

TARA should be needsdriven Lacson also stressed that it would be better if the TARA was need-driven, rather than demand-driven.

The TARA has been providing technical assistance to 1,240 municipalities since 2015 and currently has a yearly budget of P1-billion.

But Lacson wondered whether this fund could be spent more wisely.

“With your P1.121-billion budget per year, you should have produced graduates with masteral degrees instead of only capacitating them with training," he said.

Sharing his experience as Presidential Assistant on Rehabilitation and Recovery in 2014, Lacson noted how his office helped technically capacitate 171 cities and towns affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan).

With the financial assistance extended at the time by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), over 160 development and community planning officers of the LGUs devastated by typhoon Yolanda graduated from the Development Academy of the Philippines after a number of years.

“I am not questioning the TARA itself, but with this current approach, are we meeting our objectives? Should this not be result-driven?" he noted.

When Lacson’s wins in the 2022 Presidential Elections, one of his main agendas is to empower even the smallest of villages through budget reforms.

Apart from empowering the villages, Lacson says a budget reform will help alleviate the country’s budget deficit, which will then help pay the government debt currently at P11.6 trillion.

Metro

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CAGAYANTIMES Feature DE ORO

October 18-24, 2021

Publisher and CEO Dante Sudaria received the plaque from PSA Region X.

Page 8

The receipient wishes to thank the Philippine Statistics Authority under the able leadership of OIC Janeth C. Aves for this recognition. I’d also like to thank our management, editorial and production teams in BusinessWeek Mindanao, Mindanao Daily and Metro Cagayan de Oro TImes led by Publisher & CEO Dante Sudaria for their continued and unstinted support. We shall continue our best to serve our community with timely, accurate and factual information.

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