by anyajulia | Jul 6, 2009 | Headlines, National News
The National Statistics Office (NSO) to survey Family Income and Expenditure Survey (FIES) 2009 will start this July.
Data that will be surveyed are income from salaries and wages from employment; net share of crops; fruits and vegetable produced and/or livestock and poultry raised by other households; and other family income sources and family sustenance activities. The survey will also include other family entrepreneurial activities.
For family expenditures and other disbursements, it includes food, alcoholic beverage and tobacco, alcohol, fuel, light and water, transportation and communication and household operations, personal care and effects, clothing, footwear and other wear, education, recreation and medical care, furnishing and equipment, taxes, housing, house maintenance and minor repairs and other miscellaneous expenditures and disbursements. (PIA)
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by anyajulia | Jul 6, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
PLAYING the advantage of attaining a record breaking sufficiency levels after decades of rice farming, local authorities hope to sustain the momentum and organizing all rice breeders for both hybrid and certified seeds come next, says Provincial Agriculturist Liza Quirog.
Now wanting to take a better grip at the adopted technological edge, she said an organized group sharing each other’s successes and failures can result to even better harvests for Bohol in the future.
On this, at the 2009 Sandugo Agri Fair, Quirog said they have deliberately scheduled rice genetics and seed banking forum to exactly keep the farmers in the loop on the developments and motivate them to enhance local rice into high yielding varieties.
In tandem with a Mindanao certified seed grower cooperative, the Department of Agriculture and its local counterpart along with Sangguniang Panlalawigan Agriculture Committee Chair Vice Gov, Julius Caesar Herrera would attempt to mold and streamline a local organization to keep track of and facilitate the exchange of technologies among town-based farmers.
With the aggressive campaign to make Bohol rice sufficient, the DA through the Agricultural Promotion Center and the local leaders pushed for more support through inputs and fertilizers which farmers can avail at low subsidized costs.
Coupled with the abrupt shift to high yielding varieties, farmers achieved flying productivity marks, one most growers are willing to duplicate if not top, this time while demanding for better seeds.
The development has also placed most local seed growers into experimenting on varieties that they can grow and keep for the future planting season.
In Bohol, we can assure that local growers can now supply the need for certified seeds but keeping the high seed standards can be enhanced when these people work together, Quirog reasons for the plan to pool these people together.
APC’s Eng. Eugene Cahiles has always insisted that going for the shift to hybrid and certified seeds alone would change Bohol’s productivity positioning despite the sad fact that vast ricelands here are a rarity.
Agriculturist Quirog added that the aggressive campaign to momentarily shift to hybrid rice and then later grow certified rice has tilted the balance and earned for Bohol respectable position in the region topping rice production sufficiency at 113%.
Ad as soon as farmers saw the difference in productivity, many have opted to go for hone-grown certified seeds at least now that they know such are available with the help of an NGO: the South East Asian Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment, she said. (PIA)
by anyajulia | Jul 6, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita, TBTK
HOMECOMING Boholanos attending the biennial Tigum Bol-anon sa Tibuok Kalibutan (TBTK) are still urged to undergo self quarantine proceedings, in the absence of detection facilities here against the dreaded AH1N1 virus, says Provincial Administrator Tomas Abapo.
In the same manner, locals who may be exposing themselves to the threat by mingling with homecoming relatives can just exercise the precautionary measures to keep them protected from the virus, according to Atty. Abapo.
This week, Bohol has seen the onset of a homecoming crowd from abroad intending to participate in the worldwide gathering of Boholanos to pool investors for locally identified projects for private sector funding.
Homing Boholanos from countries contaminated with the dreaded and highly contagious swine flu could indeed be bringing in the virus if they do not follow self-guarantine procedures as suggested by health authorities, a mediaman hinted.
Stressing the self-quarantine as a national policy, which the Department of Health (DOH) has instructed, Abapo said it should be applicable to all persons coming from different places abroad and measures for locals.
Atty Abapo, who spoke for Governor Erico Aumentado in his weekly the interaction with the media continued on by saying even President Macapagal-Arroyo set the example and has to go through the procedure. President Arroyo, who came from a marathon state visits in Japan, Brazil and Hongkong checked out at the Asian Hospital in Muntinlupa City recently without any signs that she was infected by A(H1N1) virus.
While stating not much of local monitors at the ports of entry, Abapo said there is no way Bohol could put up the monitoring system like the thermal scanner which is only installed in the country’s major airports and ports of entry from abroad.
Without the scanner to detect persons who may unwittingly carry the virus here, Abapo instead appealed for the honest observance of self precautionary measures suggested by the DOH as a way of keeping Bohol free from the virus.
He talked about covering the mouth when coughing or sneezing, doing away from welcome hugs, constant and proper hand washing.
In fact, he also asked the listeners to be more wary about the threat of dengue. (PIA)
by anyajulia | Jul 6, 2009 | Headlines, Local News / Bohol Balita
ALSO keeping its vision of transforming Bohol into a strong agro-industrial province, local authorities here put up a marketplace of ideas, technologies and products as well in an easy to find place.
Officially opened Friday, July 3, 2009 by no less than Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, the Sandugo Agri Fair is a month-long one-stop shop for agricultural ideas, technologies and yes, products at farm gate prices, organizers said.
This as the Department of Agriculture and its local counterparts cut the ribbons to open the Fair at the Bohol Agricultural Promotions Center grounds.
The fair aims to bring in a single location tech-help and allow farmers and sector stakeholders to market share ideas and technologies as well as showcase the best mari-culture from Bohol’s bio-diverse coastal areas and its hard to parallel farmlands.
Moreover, it also attempts to open up a web-based menu of services and information for farmer scientists, revealed Provincial agriculturist Liza Quirog during the recent Kapihan sa PIA Thursday.
The month-long market place at the grounds of Bohol’s biggest aggie promotion establishment brings to the city, resources for the idea-hungry farmer scientist the technology which should be available at his own bidding, she continued.
Aside from marine products like oysters and seaweeds, the agri-fair also brings in best farm produce and even showcases the best processed food products by a technology assistance center managed by the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry, she bared.
Quirog explained that with the annual fair, farmers and aggie authorities here wish to bring out to the mainstream markets these products as well as promote for its adoption by presenting leading technologies.
Lined up aside from the traditional display of fruits, vegetables, adoptable technologies, demonstration booths and farmer information resources are techno-foras and congresses.
Such include Oyster Congress for July 9, Seaweeds Congress for July 10, Cassava Congress on the 15th, Organic inputs producers Assembly on the 17th and Coconut forum on the 20th.
On the 21st, farmers are in for a rice genetics and seed banking forum, Banana Congress on the 23rd, Refreshers Training in Ube and sweet potato on the 27th, Oil Palm Congress on the 28th and Corn Congress on the 3oth. (PIA)
by anyajulia | Jul 6, 2009 | Headlines, National News
COPS can heave a sigh of relief now that the infamous Pangilinan Law is on the verge of instituted amendments.
The Pangilinan Law or Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act of 2006 exempts criminal liability to persons below 15 years old.
This has also become controversial for law enforcements who are often situated at the receiving end of suits for performance of their duty to keep peace.
No less than Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno confirmed that it may not be long when Senator Francisco Pangilinan, the one who frontloaded the law submits his proposals to amend the very law he introduced.
Other than Pnagilinan who himself ahs seen the trouble his law has caused, anti-crime advocates and law enforcement groups have lobbied for the immediate introduction of amendments to keep the intent of the law above all else.
Speaking during a press conference at the Leqazpi Suite of the posh Bohol Tropics, Puno admitted that the law indeed has its loopholes.
Particular problems of the law surfaced in a celebrated case in Laguna where a student beat to death a high school kid. But since that student is below 15, the police had no choice but to release him.
However, in fairness to the sponsors of the law, Sen Pangilinan and the UNICEF, it also provides “diversion” and intervention” programs to be implemented by the DSWD.
However, criminal syndicates who have seen the huge gray area to circumvent the law have used minors as couriers or the hands in the commission of crimes, knowing these kids can easily slip because of this impediment
Over this, policemen who for duty sake accost minors more often than not find themselves entangled with the law and this has caused demoralization among the ranks, a local station commander revealed.
With the amendment, at leas policemen would fear no more, especially when apprehending or accosting minors. (PIA)
