by jeyzsonic | Jul 31, 2008 | Local News / Bohol Balita
The Provincial Council Against Tuberculosis in Bohol (PROCAT-Bohol) is launching a province-wide Logo Contest for the whole month of August.
The launching will be on August 4, at 8:00 in the morning at the provincial capitol grounds. It will coincide with the convocation program of the provincial government and as a kick off activity to celebrate the month of August as Lung Month.
The contest will be open to the public and must be relevant to the theme; TB Atong Masumpo, Basta LihOk Tanan (TAMBLOT) which is the slogan of PROCAT-Bohol.
Entries may either be black and white or colored, and must be submitted in a short bondpaper. Those interested must submit 2 copies of their logo design, with one copy bearing their name, address and contact number. Only one entry per participant.
Deadline of submission of entries will be on or before August 21, at 5:00 in the afternoon and must be submitted at the Provincial Health Office, Dao District, Tagbilaran City. Entries submitted after 5:00 o’clock will not anymore be accepted.
The logo designs will be judged according to content or relevance, originality and artistic design. All entries submitted will automatically become the property of PROCAT.
Prizes will be P5,000 for the first place; P3,000 and P2,000 for the 2nd and 3rd place respectively. They will also receive certificates of recognition. The decision of the Board of Judges is final and unappealable.
The winning entry will also become the official logo of PROCAT-Bohol.
Awarding of winning entries will be on August 29, during the Lung Month culmination program.
PROCAT-Bohol is chaired by Gov. Erico Aumentado with Hon. Cesar Tomas Tomas Lopez as c—chair.
The council was created last March 31, 2008, during the celebration of World TB day. As a multi-sectoral council; it aims to forge a comprehensive and unified program to fight TB involving government agencies and private sectors in the province, harmonize and integrate TB control efforts, as well as conduct advocacy, legislations and trainings to members and non-members.
Citing its role in the National TB Program implementation in the province, PROCAT-Bohol is also seeking to be adopted as the TB Advisory council of the province.
Based on statistics, TB continuous to be 9th causes of death and 11th causes of morbidity in the province.
Global figures also show that 1 of every 3 individuals are infected with TB; 1.6 M have already died while 195,000 TB cases are infected with HIV. (PIA/Bohol)
by jeyzsonic | Jul 30, 2008 | Local News / Bohol Balita
GOVERMENT and the private sector roll their sleeves against poverty in conflict areas here.
In effort to nurture peace, the national government and an investor partners with conflict areas to push a livelihood program that is aimed at keeping poverty off the people’s lives.
Poverty has been a convenient hole for the communist rebels to instigate anti-government sentiments especially in far-flung communities.
But with the partnership, authorities try to plug poverty with Sub-contracting Partners for Innovation (SPIN) Project, bares Department of Trade and Industry Region 7 head Asteria Caberte.
“SPIN used to be a regular out-sourcing program for the rural areas where a handicraft investor partners with communities to weave for his demand, and the communities earn,” Caberte said.
Instead of getting their supplies from regular weaving communities, the investor now sub-contracts with partner communities in conflict areas.
According to the program, DTI identifies the beneficiary communities based on the military’s list of cleared communities. The investor then sends trainors and spends for raw materials while the trained community delivers the subcontracted volume order.
This came as investors still see shortage of weavers amid massive demand for handcrafted materials.
The expansion to help conflict areas the military has cleared from rebels grip came into the picture, she explained.
Now with Gifts, Toys and Housewares (GTH), and 33.3 exports, both Cebu-based private investors, DTI taps rebel-influenced or threatened communities to do the job.
GTH, along with DTI, supplies the skilled trainors to the communities so they can also help us in our product development, Engr. Ramil Bonghanoy of GTH said.
“We see it as a noble cooperative effort and we had a nice start”, he added during the press conference held at the Prawn Farm at Island City Mall.
The idea was first piloted in Region 7, DTI said.
Now, as President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has seen the novelty of the project, she has considered it her pet project for replication in the country’s conflict areas, Caberte revealed. (rachiu/PIA)
by jeyzsonic | Jul 30, 2008 | Local News / Bohol Balita
Amidst the growing protest against the proposed Reproductive Health and Population Development Bill, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo made clear her stand on this issue during her State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July 28.
In her SONA, the President cited that promoting natural family planning is effective than pushing the artificial birth control method. “By promoting natural planning and female education, we have curbed population growth to 2.04% during our administration, down from the 2.36 in the 1990’s, when artificial birth control was pushed,” said President Arroyo.
Hinting that the development of our nation could be affected by overpopulation, she stressed on the role of parents in this concern and the campaign should be on the awareness “of responsible parenthood regarding birth spacing.”
“Therefore informed choice should mean letting more couples, who are mostly Catholics, know about natural family planning,” the president stressed.
The President’s stand on this issue came timely as more than 15,000 gathered at the St. Joseph Cathedral grounds last July 30, to protest against the proposed House Bill
The crowd were mostly students and teachers from the different schools in the city, mandated Church organization, government officials, among others
They also called upon Bohol’s three congressmen not to sign the proposed bill in Congress and be consistent pro-life legislators.
The activity started with a prayer march from 5 different areas in the city, en route to the Cathedral grounds where a prayer rally was held.
Capping the rally was a Holy Mass celebrated by Bishop Leonardo Medroso along with priests and religious from the Diocese of Tagbilaran. (PIA/Bohol)
by jeyzsonic | Jul 24, 2008 | National News
An information system worth US$ 650,000 that is seen to help Philippine courts improve their efficiency in handling cases, was launched jointly at the Supreme Court by U.S. Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney and Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno.
Known as the Case Management Information System (CMIS), it is an automated system that will allow the courts and their officials to closely and effectively monitor and manage cases pending in their dockets.
The CMIS also promotes greater public transparency and accountability because the system allows for regular updating of information on the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, and Sandiganbayan caseload and litigation performance.
The US$ 650,000 grant also includes the cost of developing the software, building the information structure, computer equipment, technical assistance and training for the justices and court personnel.
According to Ambassador Kenney, the project will strengthen the judiciary’s management information system processes and capacities by ensuring accurate, up-to-date, and adequate information that is useful in court management and oversight monitoring, policy and planning, and evaluation.
CMIS is In line with the Philippine judiciary’s ongoing program of easy access to justice. (PIA/Bohol)
by jeyzsonic | Jul 24, 2008 | National News
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has appointed former senator Ralph Recto as the new director-general of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita made the announcement at his weekly press briefing in Malacanang.
Recto will take over the post left by Romulo Neri, who was appointed by the President as Commission on Higher Education (CHED) before he was appointed to head the Social Security System (SSS).
NEDA Deputy Director-General Augusto Santos was appointed acting director-general of NEDA until Recto’s appointment.
Recto, an economist, run for reelection in the Senate in the May 2007 senatorial elections but lost.
He is known to be the author of the Expanded Value Added Tax Law. (PIA/Bohol)
