by magnolia_eic | Mar 19, 2010 | Local News / Bohol Balita
GOVERNOR Erico Aumentado adeptly steered the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) to churn up the necessary support for the much needed cloud seeding operations in drought hit-Bohol.
During a meeting March 15, the governor who has been moving allover Bohol expressed alarm at the widespread effects of the El Nino which has now parched not only the harvests and cracked the farmlands but also receded the water levels of Bohol dams to critical point.
Seeing the most immediate need for mitigation, the governor, who also heads the PDCC convened the council to hear out reports from various government and private institutions monitoring the effects of the drought.
The council then passed a resolution supporting the National Irrigation Administration and the governor in its desire to ask the agriculture department for the much needed cloud seeding to to bring out the rains.
The governor has already intimated his desire to have cloud seeding operations here, he shared last Friday. (PIA Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 19, 2010 | Headlines, National News
AGRICULTURAL extension services at one’s fingertips, that is the promise the Department of Agriculture (DA) and a telecommunication giant promise to make agritechno-info at the arms’ reach.
With the Philippine Long Distance Company (PLDT), the government agriculture department makes it easy for farmers and fisherfolk to access the Farmers’ Contact Center (FCC) through a flat rate call or short messaging service.
The project allocates special lines connecting farmers to farm technicians and experts from the aggie department so they can be guided and informed on various concerns without having to worry about high call rates.
A few weeks ago, Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap sealed an agreement with PLDT vice president for corporation relations management Renato Castaneda formalizing their participation in this farmer-friendly project.
Yap said the initiative done through its Agricultural Training Institute (ATI), is part of the Extension component of the government’s flagship program on food security dubbed as the FIELDS.
FIELDS, which enumerates the six areas where government support are being focused on under the President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s food security and sufficiency agenda, stands for Fertilizers, Irrigation and other rural infrastructure like farm-to-market roads (FMRs), Extension services and education for farmers, Loans, Dryers and other postharvest facilities, and Seeds and other genetic materials.
Incoming Agriculture Secretary Bernie Fondevilla welcomed the project and vowed full support and strengthen it on his watch.
President Arroyo recently named Fondevilla, a former DA undersecretary and Yap’s Chief of Staff at the DA, to succeed Yap.
ATI Director Asterio Saliot said that initially, agricultural experts will be on hand to answer queries received by the FCC, which has also established direct links to the various DA offices and attached agencies including the state universities and colleges.
Saliot said that farmers and fisherfolk can ask about, among others, information on current prices of commodities, schedule of irrigation water releases, marketing of farm produce, and control measures for pest and disease incidents, through the FCC. (PIA Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 18, 2010 | Headlines, National News
THE World Bank has upgraded its forecast on Philippine economic growth to 3.5 percent this year due to a stronger outlook for the world economy, rising deployment of overseas workers that will boost remittances, recovery in private consumption and robust public spending.
In its Philippines Quarterly Update issued Monday, the World Bank said the growth forecast for 2010 represents an upward adjustment from the previous forecast of 3.1 percent. The World Bank forecast the Philippine GDP to expand 3.8 percent in 2011.
World Bank Senior Economist Eric Le Borgne said in a statement that the rising precautionary savings that dampened spending in 2009 will likely diminish as consumer expectations gradually improve over the next twelve months.
Other important growth drivers for 2010 include a replenishment of depleted stocks by private companies, and the strong short-term outlook for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector, the report said.
But Le Borgne said El Nino-induced dryspell can hurt poor Philippine households.
“A worse-than-expected El Nino could pose serious risks to the country’s growth prospects and trigger larger increases in hunger incidence,” he said. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 18, 2010 | National News
REMITTANCES from overseas Filipino workers coursed through banks rose 8.5 percent to $1.4 billion in January from a year ago, supported by the continued deployment of workers abroad, said the central bank on Monday.
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr. said remittances from sea-based workers rose 18.1 percent, while remittances from land-based workers grew 6.3 percent.
Remittances from the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, Italy and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) accounted for the bulk or 81.1 percent of the total inflows reported by local banks.
The central bank attributed the steady remittance flows at the start of the year to the continued demand for professional and skilled Filipino overseas workers, particularly
in the health care, education and services sectors.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) anticipates that work prospects for Filipino overseas workers would continue to be favorable given the expected opening of new job markets and more opportunities for better-paying work in the next five to 10 years.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) reported that 18,539 or nearly 19 percent of the total approved job orders of 98,845 in the first two months of the year have been processed. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 16, 2010 | Local News / Bohol Balita
AMID looming power crisis and the possible power rationing in the Visayas Grid, local officials here are now jump-starting the Cantakoy Falls hydro-power development at the Wahig-Pamacsalan River into Bohol’s newest clean-energy source.
Speaking to the local media at the weekly Mansion news engagement, Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado divulged the possibility of the effect of the planned power rationing in the Visayas grid as an effect of the reduced power outputs due to critical water levels to run the country’s hydro-electric plants.
This as possible shutdown for 40 days of the country’s major hydro power plans loom, reports said.
He hinted that since the Visayas Grid shares a common power source, there is a possibility of making sure that important power requirements of major industrial and commercial centers would be prioritized. That scenario leaves some areas with decreased power, which may result to rotating brown-outs or power rationing.
The governor, who revealed his intention to meet Bohol power providers and the officials of the National Grid Corporation (formerly National Power Corporation), said he wants to be assessed of the local situation by the players themselves.
He also insists he has made it a policy to come up with consultations to come up with any decision.
The governor also revealed he has met Dennis Villareal and Sta. Clara Development Corporation, who has initially shown interest in developing hydro power in Cantakoy Falls.
At present, Bohol power requirement is largely coming from the upgraded 138 KV Leyte Bohol Power Interconnection Project.
That is also complemented by three Bohol based hydro-electric power plants, each capable of at least 2.5 KV of power, separate sources revealed.
The additional capability of another 2.5 KV in Cantakoy would also increase Bohol’s power significantly.
The governor has also earlier revealed the plan to hook Bohol into the Palinpinon Geothermal Facility in Negros, to assure the needed power province’s requirements especially with the operation of the Panglao Island International Airport and the full agro-industrialization dream of Bohol. (PIA-Bohol)
