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SUNDAY, JULY 2, 2017
Jimbo Gulle, Editor
Roger Garcia, Issue Editor
LGUs
mslocalgov@gmail.com
CAGAYAN CELEBRATES 434TH ANNIVERSARY
By Jessica M. Bacud
T
UGUEGARAO, Cagayan—The province of Cagayan winds up its weeklong celebration of its 434th founding anniversary during its Aggao Nac Cagayan celebration that ends today. The 434th Aggao Nac Cagayan 2017 celebration started with a tree-planting activity conducted at the sub-capitol grounds led by Gov. Manuel N. Mamba, provincial capitol department heads, consultants, and employees to instill awareness on protecting the environment. Archbishop Sergio L. Utleg, who led the thanksgiving Mass, also led the cycling enthusiasts in Cagayan from the towns of Sanchez Mira, Gonzaga, Gattaran, Tuguegarao City and Tabuk City in the province during the Grand Pedal Viaje that opened the weeklong activities. The weeklong celebration ends today at the Basilica Minore of Piat in honor of Our Lady of Piat, one of the most venerated Marian images of Mary in the Philippines and is referred to as the “Miraculous Mother of Cagayan.” This year’s theme is “Paddarafunan, Pabaruen ti Cagayan.” “Pabaruen” is an Ilocano term that
means “to renew” while “Paddarafunan” is an Ibanag term meaning “gathering.” “We want to show the natural charm of local culture, focusing on the development, marketing and promotion of the province history and heritage as well as its various indigenous products, lifestyle as pride of the place,” Mamba said. Improved economy is the need to nurture culture and tradition, to bind the communities together and draw visitors to experience the province way of life, he added. The governor said before his term ends, he visualizes a better Cagayan by implementing more projects in the province and to make Cagayan great again through collective efforts among the leaders and the populace. “Let us vision for a better Cagayan for the future of the children and the next generations,” Mamba said. Meanwhile, lawyer Mabel Villarica-Mamba, the better half of the governor and chairperson of the awards committee, said the firstever Dangal ng Lahing Cagayano heightened the festivity by giving awards to outstanding Cagayanos who have excelled in their field of expertise. Awardees were picked from the fields of government service, entrepreneurship, agriculture and fisheries, medicine, law, community development women empowerment science, technology and engineering, education, sports,
music, arts and culture, broadcast journalism economics, peace and order. Dangal ng Lahing Cagayano is the search for the outstanding Cagayanos who have contributed to nation-building and have served their community in an outstanding capacity, have helped contribute to the development of the province and were an inspiration to their fellow men especially to his fellow Cagayanos, Mamba stressed. Among other Gintong Medalya awardees, Dr. Ronal Guzman was awarded for his expertise in Education and Public Service, Armed Forces 5th Infantry Division Commander Paul Atal for Peace and Order while Miguel Decena Jr. for Business and Entrepreneurship. During the festival, 27 out of the 29 towns joined in this year’s trade fair. Each booth has displaced an agri-fishery products and modern technologies booth to promote their products that are mostly hand-crafted by the locals at the “Product and Technology Trade Fair” at the capitol grounds. Mamba said the trade fair gives opportunities to the local government units to market their products as well as help local entrepreneurs earn for their daily needs. The governor said there are many local products that the province could be proud of but local producers need assistance to infiltrate the market for their products to be sold.
HIGHLIGHTS. Dancers
wave their lights to form patterns in the dark as they dance through the main streets of Tacloban City in celebration of the 128th Sangyaw Festival of Lights on Friday. The festival features LED lights worn by street dancers as they party to move past the horrors of Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda’ and in honor of the Señor Sto. Niño. The festival’s theme this year is ‘Unity for Progress’. Former first lady Imelda Romualdez-Marcos started the Sangyaw Festival in the 1970s before the end of June. Sonny Espiritu Scan this icon to view the PDF
FLALOK CONGRESS BRIDGES CULTURAL GAP
POLOMOLOK, South Cotabato— Members of different indigenous people’s groups from South Cotabato and nearby Sarangani Province gathered recently at the Polomolok Gymnasium in Barangay Poblacion in South Cotabato for the 1st Flalok Congress. With funding from the USAID, CLAFI embarked on project to revive the Blaan art of storytelling to improve literacy and develop a community of readers in South Central Mindanao by adopting the Department of Education’s mother tongue-based multilingual education (MTB-MLE) approach in improving literacy outcomes particularly among young learners. Flalok is the traditional art form of oral storytelling of the Blaan tribe. Over the years, the art of Flalok has been gradually fading away due to
the dearth of written records about the Blaan tradition and the stories that have been passed orally from generation to generation. The Flalok congress also served as an opportunity to drum up support in reviving the Blaan story telling tradition. Organized by the Conrado & Ladislawa Alcantara Foundation Inc. and the United States Agency for International Development, the event gathered representatives from various Blaan communities in Region 12, local government executives from South Cotabato, Sarangani, General Santos City and Koronadal; officials from the Department of Education; and non-government organizations to celebrate the success of the Flalok project of CLAFI, the corporate social responsibility arm of the Alsons Power Group.
Local Gov’t Units
Indigenous people groups discuss how to preserve their culture in modern times in the Flalok Congress in South Cotabato.
200 MANILA KIDS FINISH ANTI-DRUG TRAINING By Sandy Araneta MORE than 200 street children who were rescued from the streets of Manila have completed the anti-drug education program Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) being implemented by Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada. The 200 street children, aged eight to 14, are the first batch of homeless children at the Manila Boystown Complex in Marikina City—a halfway house for orphans, juvenile delinquents, and former drug dependents being run by the city government of Manila—to undergo DARE lessons. In simple recognition ceremonies at the facility, Estrada called on the young DARE graduates, some of whom were the so-called “rugby boys” or substance abusers, to shun drugs and other vices and instead go to school to start a new life. “You’re probably thinking that no one cares for you and that you no longer have any chance at all,” Estrada told the street children in Filipino. “It’s too early for you to give up life. You still have a bright future ahead of you,” Estrada said. “But you can’t have a future if you continue using drugs. Stop it, it won’t do you any good,” Estrada added. For those wanting to go to school, he said public schools in Manila are tuition-free, including school supplies and uniforms. The city-run Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) and Universidad de Manila (UDM) also offer college degrees, free of charge, to poor but deserving students, Estrada added. To inspire the street children, Estrada reminded them that many former orphans at Boystown have become successful in their chosen fields such as actor Enrico Torralba, businessman Herbert Yu, and Romnic Toledo, a youth rights advocate. “But I must remind you: Manila loves you. And as father of Manila, I love you,” Estrada told the street children. Originally from the United States, DARE is a classroom instruction program that taps active duty police officers to teach Grades 5 and 6 students good decision-making skills to keep them away from drugs and other vices. The Manila Police District has so far 32 highly-trained personnel dedicated to teaching DARE lessons, according to MPD director Chief Supt. Joel Coronel. Since 1993 when Estrada introduced the program in the country when he was vice president and head of the Presidential AntiCrime Commission (PACC), more than 1.5 million students have underwent DARE instructions. Estrada now serves as chairman of DARE Philippines Inc., a private non-profit organization that implements DARE not only in Manila but also in the entire country. According to Donna Gasgonia, the organization’s executive vice president, the 202 street children from Boystown were given special DARE lessons by Manilabased DARE officers.
ABOITIZPOWER UNIT SUPPORTS NAVOTAS PUPILS NAVOTAS Schools Division Superintendent, Dr. Romulo B. Rocena, once struggled to financially support his education. Through perseverance and a big help from scholarships, he finished school and became what he is now. That was why it was extra special for the top education official to be personally handing educational assistance certificates to 25 deserving high school students, as part of the community projects of AboitizPower, its Navotas-based subsidiary Therma Mobile (TMO), and the Aboitiz Foundation. Rocena recalled that without scholarships, he would have not finished school and become what he is now. “While I was awarding the scholarship certificates, I was reminded of my high
school days. I know how it feels to struggle financially to study, that’s why I am really grateful to AboitizPower, TMO, and Aboitiz Foundation for this initiative, because I myself would have not finished my studies without scholarships,” Rocena said. TMO’s High School Financial Assistance, which is now on its second year, is a sustained program aimed at helping finance deserving students’ education. The project underscores the commitment of AboitizPower and all its business units across the country to creating a better future for all. The beneficiaries, composed of 18 Grade 9 students and seven Grade 8 students, together with their parents and guardians, were awarded their scholarship certificates on June 10 at Bagumbayan Elementary
School. “Congratulations to all of you. I hope this scholarship serves as an inspiration for you to continue pursuing your dreams and creating brighter tomorrows,” Rocena said. In March this year, TMO also turned over two carpentry and welding laboratories, complete with tools and equipment, to San Rafael Technological School, also in Navotas. In addition, TMO extended the classrooms to accommodate more worktables, as well as upgraded the audio-visual room with a projector and screen, AC units, and a sound system. Danel Aboitiz, president and COO of AboitizPower Oil Business Unit, reiterated AboitizPower’s commitment to its neighbors in Navotas.
FISH FEEDING AT ENCHANTED RIVER. The staff of the Enchanted River does the regular noontime feeding of the fishes, which is the highlight and a public spectacle in the popular river resort park in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur. Lualhati Perez