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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2016 Roger Garcia, Issue Editor
LGUs
mst.daydesk@gmail.com
MMDA, BRITISH COUNCIL PROP UP 'URBAN LIVABILITY' FOR MEGA MANILA
“W
ITH problems such as traffic congestion and lack of public spaces, cooperation and creative ideas on improving urban livability are more needed than ever.”
This in a nutshell, described the ongoing joint advocacy program of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the British Council of the Philippines. Nick Thomas, British Council country director, said “that as countries around the world grapple with the complex challenges of urbanization, the evidence is clear that culture and creativity can play an essential role in making cities more inclusive, sustainable and economically vibrant.” “We are delighted to be working with MMDA on this new project along the Pasig River,” Thomas said, during the recent launch of their joint project dubbed as “Art for Urban Change’ held at the First United Building in Escolta. In a statement, MMDA and BCP officials said that the partnership aims to contribute to more livable and creative cities and it includes the creation of site-specific artworks on pumping stations found along Pasig River, a traveling art exhibition, and the creation of a public art advisory group. The first work was unveiled during the partnership launch, located at a pumping station on Burke Street corner Muelle del Banco Nacional. Leeroy New created the artwork alongside collaborator Janno Abenoja. Pumping stations are vital in the city’s flood management as they regulate the water levels of Pasig River and sewers. The traveling exhibition features works from Rivers of the World, a project that enables young people to explore their local environment. Six art pieces created by students from Marikina and local
art collective, Ang Ilustrador ng Kabataan, will be displayed in selected Pasig ferry stations from November 2016 onwards to 2017. Pasig River is historically an important transportation route and water source in Metro Manila but has since been declared overly polluted by ecologists. The artworks were first shown at the Totally Thames Festival in London last September 2016. “MMDA welcomes the British Council as a partner in our effort to revive Pasig River as a place that people can enjoy for commuting, recreation, and leisure” shares Julia Nebrija, MMDA’s assistant general manager for Operations. “We are excited to offer artists an opportunity to inspire citizens to return to the river,” Nebrija enthused. “In addition to restoring ferry transport and preserving environmental quality, it’s important to celebrate the river as part of our city’s culture,” she added. Leeroy New is an artist-designer whose works address the issue of art and art practitioners’ (in)visibility in the Philippines through cultivating a language for large scale public art. New, originally trained as a sculptor, tried everything from production design for film to working with fashion designers, to creating 3D mock ups for commercial purposes. He integrated this inclination to move from one mode of creative production to another as the spine of his creative practice. For more information on this project, visit www.britishcouncil.ph/programmes/arts.
The country’s vice governors led by its president Tonypet Albano (Isabela), Chairman Humerlito Dolor (Oriental Mindoro) and Secretary General Carlo Loreto (Leyte) light the symbolic lamps with Anthony Catajan and James Donovan of My Shelter Foundation.
LITER OF LIGHT
VICE GOVS INK MOA ON SOLAR LIGHTING THE country’s most far-flung areas would soon get night light as the League of Vice Governors of the Philippines recently forged a memorandum of agreement with My Shelter Foundation’s Liter of Light program for the provision of affordable, sustainable solar light to people with limited or no access to electricity.
Under the MoA, which was facilitated by and LVGP PRO Jo Kristine Revil (Masbate), the provinces through the vice governors, Sangguniang Panlalawigan, private sector and civil society groups will endeavor to provide inexpensive lighting to remote barangays across the archipelago. Founded by Filipino social entrepreneur Illac Diaz, the project has
Local Gov’t Units
installed more than 350,000 bottle lights in more than 15 countries and taught green skills to empower grassroots groups. A recipient of the 2015 Zayed Future Energy Prize and the 2014-2015 World Habitat Award, its open source technology has been recognized by the United Nations and adopted for use in some UN refugee camps.
ECO-TOWN PROGRAMS STEERED FOR RIZAL LGUS DISASTER-PRONE areas in Rizal have adopted climate change policies in an “eco-town” program covering five LGUs in Rizal province. An ecotown is an environmentally sustainable community that is developing to have zero emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG), according to a Climate Change Commission. Dr. Ancha Srinivasan, ADB climate change specialist, in a statement said that among specific measures piloted in the Protected Area Management Board of the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL) will primarily include bio-charcoal briquetting for Marikina, San Mateo, Rodriguez, Tanay, and Baras, species establishment and rehabilitation in Tanay, Rodriguez, and Baras, and check dams piloted in Antipolo City and San Mateo. Commissioned by the Asian Development Bank to the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), the project dubbed as “Marikina Watershed,” has adopted the Climate Resilience and Green Growth Road Map developed under the ADBfunded “Climate Resilience and Green Growth in UMRBPL: Demonstrating the Ecotown Framework.” The project is by and large a realization--of previously thought of--as vague or unreal concept of climate change as LGUs implement proper agricultural and environmental management practices. These activities prevent the disastrous effects of climate change such as flooding and landslides. Instead of cutting trees in the protected area to produce charcoal, natives turn to bio-charcoal briquetting as livelihood. Check dams also prevent soil erosion and excessive flooding as these become water storage and source of irrigation for farming, too. Dr. Lope B. Santos III, SEARCA program specialist, cited specific activities and undertakings involved in the eco-town development planning process. These include baseline analysis, natural resources assessment, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission inventory, sectoral vulnerability and risk assessment, cost benefit analysis of identified priority adaptation and mitigation measures, preparation of climate resilience and green growth road map and local climate change action plan .” Another ADB and CCCC, Climate Resilience and Green Growth in Critical Watersheds were also commissioned to SEARCA and applied the same eco-town development planning process.
CLARK EXPANSION TO ADD 9,000 JOBS TO C. LUZON CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga—The new expansion program of the Clark Investors and Locators Association here will generate about 9,000 additional jobs this month up to next year, an official said. There are still many jobs waiting to be filled inside Clark as shown by data from the External Affairs Department of the Clark Development Corp., said Noel Tulabut, chief of the communication division. During the recent job fair here, about 132 applicants were hired on the spot, while 269 qualified for tests and 2,227 were scheduled for further interviews, Tulabut said. “This is still very far from the actual labor needs inside Clark Field,” he added. The arrival of additional locators,
mostly Chinese, Taiwanese and Japanese businessmen, and the expansion of businesses already operating inside the former US Air Force base led to the increased demand for workers inside the Freeport, he said. CILA is an organization of firms operating inside the Freeport. To solve the mismatches between the labor force required and the availability of manpower, CDC is proposing a Dual Training System that would assure future locators and investors in the Freeport of a steady stream of job hunters. This is in cooperation with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the colleges, universities, and local government units of Pampanga, Tulabut added. Romeo Dizon
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CAROLING CHOIR. San Juan City Mayor Guia G. Gomez (seated left) welcomes to her home on Monday Education Secretary Leonor M. Briones and the Manila Concert Choir, which dished out Christmas songs—the first ever to echo across the mayor’s home this Yuletide season. The Manila Concert Choir, established in 1951 with a by-invitation membership basis, is composed of people from different disciplines and of various ages. It is currently headed by Dr. Briones of the University of the Philippines. The conductor of the group is Dr. Romulo Pizana, a mathematics professor at Far Eastern University.