D1
SUNDAY, MARCH 26, 2017
Jimbo Gulle, Editor
Roger Garcia, Issue Editor
LGUs
Local Gov’t Units
mslocalgov@gmail.com
BICOL ZOO TO GET MORE ANIMALS By Manilyn B. Ugalde
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COLORS OF BOUNTY. Participants of the Ani ng Laguna (AniLag) festival display their best in the street dance competition participated in by 25 municipalities and five cities. The week-long celebration is Laguna’s thanksgiving for the bounty of the province, and an offering for the preservation and protection of the country’s largest freshwater lake, the Laguna de Bay. Gov. Ramil Hernandez spiced up the festivities with attractive prizes for winners in the various competitions. The town of Lumban bagged the first prize in the street dance contest with a prize package of P1 million worth of municipal projects and P200,000 in cash. The second prize went to San Pablo City with P500,000 in projects and P100,000 cash reward, while Sta. Rosa was third with P300,000 worth of projects and P50,000 cash. Hernandez also gifted the town of Sinoloan, San Pablo and Mabitac for topping the trade fair competition with the same package of prizes, while another set of prize incentives went to Paete, San Pablo and Rizal for the float contest.
FOOD PRODUCTION FOR SMALL FARMERS
By Brenda Jocson
T
UGUEGARAO CITY, Cagayan—”Small farmers which include women in small family farms will be the future in food production in this country and not the corporate farms.”
Thus said Senator Cynthia Villar, the chairman of the Senate’s committee on Agriculture, as she stressed that food production
does not belong to large companies when it comes to making the country self-sufficient and that women have a great tasks and im-
portant roles to play. But sadly, Villar said, that while women have always been the dominant force in agriculture, many among them are still in the poverty level. Villar cited reports from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization of an increased world population by 2050 which will require farmers to produce not less than 70 percent of world’s total production of food.
MANILA BAY REHAB.
Local government leaders of three provinces within the boundaries of Manila Bay recently forged an agreement to spearhead a sustaining rehabilitation program aimed at curbing and mitigating the alarming level of pollution of its waters. Cavite Gov. Jesus Crispin ‘Boying’ Remulla (left), together with Bulacan Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado (center) and Bataan Board Member Manuel Beltran, who represented Bataan Gov. Albert Garcia, recently signed the Memorandum of Understanding in Tagaytay City.
She also noted that in the countryside, majority of small farmers and fishermen belong to the most marginalized sector in the country where women does the majority of the tasks. The senator was here to grace the celebration of Women’s Month after visiting Nueva Vizcaya last week to grace a growing credit cooperative in their general assembly. She also visited the province of Isabela. Villar said at least one-fourth of the world’s population are farmers who are women of great influence. “Twenty-five percent of the world’s population are women farmers whose role are significant but they are not aware of how powerful they are,” she said. Villar also encouraged the women of Tuguegarao City to engage themselves in waste recycling to become more productive citing Las Piñas City where the people are making money from products made of waste materials. She said women have a lot to contribute to development given the proper opportunities which include the opportunity to learn new skills and use those to attain a level of financial independence.
LAGUNA’S SEARCH FOR PEACE THROUGH MUSIC By Raul M. Francia STA. CRUZ, Laguna—“Where words fail, music speaks.” Perhaps these words of the Danish poet and writer Hans Christian Andersen were what inspired peace warriors of a lowly town about 100 kilometers south of Manila when they thought of “Isang Gabi ng mga Awit ng Pag-Ibig… sa Bayan.” As talks between the government and the National Democratic Front were stalled, residents of Magdalena and nearby municipalities were abuzz with words of Freddie Aguilar and a host of local talents performing for the cause of peace. Then thousands showed up to watch him rock with
his Watawat band, along with locally popular alternative musician Rence Rapanot, who shared the locals’ desire for enduring peace. Magdalena, a fourth class municipality of Laguna of more than 25,000 people, is nestled in the boundaries of Pagsanjan, Cavinti, Majayjay, Liliw and Nagcarlan. It prides itself as the “Little Hollywood” owing to the number of local films and telenovelas shot on its enchanting and mystic spots, including the church. More than 20 years ago, the erstwhile quiet and sleepy town became part of the operational area of the Melito Glor Command of the New People’s Army which covers the east and southern part of Laguna and the provinces of Rizal, Quezon and Batangas and Mindoro, then known
to be headed by Rogelio “Ka Roger” Rosal who became spokesman of the Communist Party of the Philippines until his death in 2011. Magdalena’s own son, Tirso “Ka Bart” Alcantara took over the NPA southern Tagalog leadership when Ka Roger was made CPP spokesman. He was wounded and arrested six years ago in Lucena City but was release last August as consultant of the National Democratic Front at the peace talks that resumed in Oslo, Norway. “This is the first ever of its kind here in Laguna,” said Dennis Villavecer, the representative of Gov. Ramil Hernandez who witnessed the event held recently at the town’s open grounds. Laguna residents from as far as
Calamba and Los Baños, along with those from surrounding towns, joined to celebrate the spirit of peace. The thousands quietly sat or sang with the performers with the rendition of songs of love and the people’s struggle. The Concert for Peace was organized by the ALMES-MES Alumni Association in cooperation with the Rotary Club of Fort Bonifacio Global City District 3830. The event was part of the centennial celebration of the town’s central school, Ananias Laico Memorial Elementary School spearheaded by its alumni association. Rotary FBGC’s participation was in observance of the 112th year of Rotary International. Peace and conflict resolution is among Rotary’s focus this year.
LEGAZPI CITY—The lone Bicol wildlife sanctuary here is expecting a donation of additional exotic animals that would double the present 200 types of various exotic and non-exotic species being maintained by the province. A total of 250 exotic wildlife of various species will be donated to the Albay Parks and Wildlife Center at Barangay Bogtong, said Dr. Florencio Adonay, the Provincial Veterinarian Office head manning the operation. The Cavite City government decided to close its 3,000-square meter mini-zoo to convert the site as the extended school premises run by its city government, thus donating the animals to Albay, Adonay said. He clarified, however, the Memorandum of Agreement for the donation of the animals has yet to be signed between Albay Gov. Al Francis Bichara and Mayor Bernardo Paredes of Cavite City, who personally offered the donation. The Cavite City mini zoo is located inside a subdivision within the city proper, Adonay said. Established in 1995, the fivehectare Albay Wildlife was a project of Gov. Bichara when he was first elected as governor. Adonay also welcomes donations of any wildlife species from citizens. According to the list received by Albay, the animals to be donated from Cavite City include two tigers, pythons, and exotic and nonexotic birds. Albay Wildlife only has one tiger at present. Albay spokesperson Danny Garcia said Gov. Bichara was delighted over the wildlife donation from Cavite, adding it would certainly attract local patronage from the region’s six provinces. The provincial veterinarian disclosed that for feeds and medicines, the province has allocated an annual P2-million budget, saying this will surely double once the animals from Cavite arrive.
STEM TALKS PROGRAM FOR MILLENNIALS VIA ROTARY IN THE spirit of promoting education, the Rotary Club of Makati Dasmariñas has been rolling out its “STEM Talks Program,” a lecture series for science high school students, aimed at encouraging and promoting career development in Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math (STEM). The first one featured world renowned Filipina Astro-Physicist Dr. Reina Reyes, the second one featured the national government’s focal person for renewable energy, geologist and DOE director IV Mario Marasigan. RCMD works in partnership with Makati Science High School and has conducted two iterations already at their campus. The lectures are available online through RCMD’s Facebook and Youtube pages; soon, an interactive website will be launched. In future, the goal is to expand the scope to include other Science High Schools. The Rotary Club of Makati Dasmariñas would like to invite other high schools and NGOs to partner with the club for future implementations. Contact information and content related to STEM Talks can be found in www.rcmakatidasma. com/stemtalks.