D1
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2017
Jimbo Gulle, Editor
Roger Garcia, Issue Editor
LGUs
Local Gov’t Units
mslocalgov@gmail.com
QC TO BUILD HOMES FOR PWDS
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CASH FOR CENTENARIANS. Rosalinda Fabreo and Purificasion Esberto receive their checks for P100,000 from Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Carlos Padilla (standing, fourth from left) and provincial officials in fulfillment of the province’s Centenarian Ordinance of 2014. Ben Moses Ebreo
ECIJA CENTENARIAN’S SECRET TO LONG LIFE By Ferdie G. Domingo
Z PHOTO BY Ferdie Domingo
ARAGOZA, Nueva Ecija— This 100-year-old lady still washes her own laundry, does toilet habits on her own, walks by her lonesome with a cane, eats food with gastronomic passion and engages in neighborhood talk.
Dionisia Mamaclay-Reyes
But she is no ordinary senior citizen. Centenarian Dionisia MamaclayReyes of Barangay Sta. Cruz in this town still alive and kicking. She turned 100 years old last Dec. 6 and expects to live some more years actively and somehow spritely at that. Lola Dionisia still has an impeccable sense of humor. When asked what’s her secret for longevity, her answer nearly floored everyone when she quickly replies without batting an eyelash, “puffing cigarettes every day.” “I’ve been smoking cigarettes since I was nine years old,” enthuses Reyes when she sat down for an interview with this reporter. From La Campana to Balintawak to Marvels, the cigarette brands she’s tried goes on and on. She said she felt good chomping cigarettes, practically disproving conventional wisdom which says smoking is bad for everybody’s health. Lola Dionisia shrugs this medically proven threat off. “Pampahaba ng buhay ‘yon (That gives you a long life),” she said with a chuckle. As if to prove her point, she lit up a cigarette stick from a pack and went smoking while fielding questions. Research and experts’ advice have revealed that smoking can cause lung disease by damaging the airways and the small air sacs found in lungs. Lung diseases caused by smoking includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis and lung cancer. According to the American Lung
Association, there are approximately 600 ingredients in cigarettes. When burned, they create more than 7,000 chemicals, at least 69 of which are known to cause cancer. Mamaclay-Reyes, who has not encountered any serious illness, said when she met a doctor, Roland Valdez and told him of her “longevity secret,” the latter advised her to “continue smoking.” A mother to seven siblings, four of whom were still alive, MamaclayReyes never entered school. She is also fond of singing. Her daughter Lucita, the eldest of the surviving siblings, said her mother also is fond of eating and drinks up to seven glasses of coffee a day. “She gets mad when I try to prevent her from drinking coffee,” she said with a laugh. Lola Dionisia’s family has a history of longevity. Two of her sisters, Gregoria Madrid and Consuelo died at the age of 105 years and 103 years, respectively. She lost her husband, Nicanor Reyes, who died at the age of 97. The centenarian gets to mingle with his children who are still alive: Lucita, 66; Antonio Reyes, 62; Ligaya Gatlabayan, 60 and Gerardo Reyes, 55. Gone were Ricardo Reyes, Gregorio Reyes and Juanita Castro, who all died ahead of her due to various ailments, and Gregorio due to lung cancer. A certificate of live birth was issued last Dec. 14 by the Zaragoza municipal civil registrar Lorna Bacani-Azarcon for Mamaclay-Reyes Turn to D2
SOME 160 housing units will soon be built for Persons with Disability in Quezon City. A project of the city government, the housing project will be developed in a portion of the National Vocational Rehabilitation Center (NVRC) in Barangay Escopa III. In partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Gawad Kalinga and the Office of Congressman Jorge “Bolet” Banal Jr. the housing for PWD’s complements City Mayor Herbert Bautista’s continuing effort to expand the delivery of services to the disadvantaged constituents of the city. A memorandum of understanding has been scheduled for signing this month to formalize the development of the PWD housing project, which also Signatories to the agreement will include Mayor Herbert Bautista, DSWD Secretary Judy Taguiwalo and GK–QC head Justine Cruz. Prior to the signing of the MOU, the parties have already sealed a partnership as early as 2013 for the development of the housing project. As provided under the partnership, the city government has been tasked to oversee the land development while the DSWD shall ensure the implementation of guidelines governing the selection and disposition of the home lots. Gawad Kalinga, on the other hand, shall oversee the provision of the housing component. Mayor Bautista has already unveiled plans for the adoption of a comprehensive development program for the benefit of all PWDs in the city following the passage of an ordinance mandating the provision of a one-percent budget allocation for programs and projects that will benefit senior citizens in the city.
CORDILLERA TO BOOST RICE OUTPUT BAGUIO CITY—The Department of Agriculture-Cordillera Administrative Region has targeted an increase of 50 percent production yield of rice in the Cordillera region by 2019. Miriam Pastor, technical staff of the region’s Rice Production Program, said that with this goal, the budget allotted for 2018 increased almost 50 percent from the 2016 budget. The directives set by the DA in the implementation of projects for rice production includes; 1) Climate adaptation change adaptation and disaster risk reduction management which uses high quality seeds for adverse ecosystem, the hybrid and inbred seed buffer stocking, and provision of agricultural chemical buffer stocks; 2) Prioritize the repair and rehabilitation of facilities; and, 3) Pooling of agricultural machineries and equipment for calamity and epidemic quick response. Other strategies include deployment of ICT-based advisory system, pushing for the micro agrienterprise for rice-based advisory development, employing support to small scale irrigation projects, continuation of rice model farm and strengthening the technology demonstration and support activities, training and training-related events, and the strengthening of Local Farmer Technicians and Farm Service Providers. Dexter A. See
PAG-IBIG SPONSORS WEDDING OF MORE THAN 2,400 COUPLES PAG-IBIG Fund once again celebrated Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day, as Araw ng Pag-IBIG when it held its annual “I Do, I Do! Araw ng Pag-IBIG” where more than 2,400 couples exchanged wedding vows in 24 venues nationwide. In Metro Manila, more than 500 couples participated in the event at the PICC Forum, Pasay City. “Valentine’s Day is a day of love, hence it is our day—Pag-IBIG Day. Since 2012, it has become our tradition at Pag-IBIG Fund to celebrate Valentine’s Day with mass weddings for Pag-IBIG members who wished to legalize their union or renew their marriage vows. We want to assure the couple-participants that they have a reliable partner in Pag-IBIG as they prepare for the future of their families. We are now on our sixth year,” said
Pag-IBIG Fund president and CEO lawyer Darlene Marie B. Berberabe. She added: “The annual event is our way of promoting Pag-IBIG to Filipino workers who are not yet Pag-IBIG members. We do this via collaboration with local government units [LGUs] and other government agencies.” From 2012 to 2016, the Fund was able to wed over 16,000 couples in 118 venues nationwide. The annual event strengthened Pag-IBIG’s linkage and cooperation with LGUs and regional offices of the Department of Tourism, since the venues were at some of the country’s top tourist attractions and chief cities and municipalities. The event primarily targets Pag-IBIG Fund members and non-members who would want to legalize their unions, espe-
cially those who do not have the financial means to do so. It is a venue for Pag-IBIG to show that it is not only a savings institution and a provider of housing finance, but also a staunch supporter in the building of happy families—the family being the basic unit and pillar of society—through the formal union of couples. Pag-IBIG provided most of the basic accessories to make the occasion more memorable to the couples, including bouquets and headdresses for the brides, and symbolic wedding rings. The Fund also prepared the couples’ first meal as husband and wife, standing in for the traditional reception after the wedding ceremony. A house-and-lot package, livelihood packages, and several special prizes were also raffled off to lucky couples.
CO-OPS UNITED. Members of the cooperative movement in Batangas City gathered at the Provincial Sports Complex during the launch of their campaign to oppose the passage of two measures that threaten to abolish the tax exemption privileges for cooperatives. Batangas Gov. Hermilando I. Mandanas (in red T-shirt) and other officials attended the event. Manny Palmero