Bulusan Volcano Pre-emptive Action Plan Briefing isinagawa ng SPDRRMO

Si Ginoong Manro Jayco habang nagpapaliwanag sa mga kalahok.

Ni: Bennie A. Recebido

LUNGSOD NG SORSOGON, May 29 (PIA) – Isang pulong ang ipinatawag kahapon ng Sorsogon Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (SPDRRMO) upang ipaliwanang sa mga kasapi ng Provincial Incident Command System (ICS) ang mga dapat gawin sakaling maulit sa Mt. Bulusan ang naganap na phreatic explosion ng Mt. Mayon noong Mayo 8, 2013.

Ayon kay Search and Rescue Team Leader Manro Jayco ng SPDRRMO, dapat na maintindihan ng mga kinauukulan ang tamang hakbang na dapat gawin sakaling biglaang maging aktibo ang Mt. Bulusan nang sa gayon ay walang buhay na mabubuwis.

Sa ganitong uri umano ng kalamidad dapat na maipatupad ang tinatawag na full safety parameters ng sinumang reresponde.

Kasama sa 4-km Permanent Danger Zone ang mga bayan ng Casiguran, Juban, Irosin, Bulusan, Barcelona, at Gubat. Sa mga bayang nabanggit, ang mga bayan ng Casiguran, Juban, Irosin, at Bulusan ang may mga komunidad na direktang maapektuhan at dapat na agarang mailikas.

Sakali umanong maganap ito, dapat na handa ang lahat ng mga kakailanganin mula sa mga tauhang gaganap, kagamitan at mga pagkain. Aniya, mahalagang alam ipatupad ng mga kinauukulan ang Group at Cluster Approach, at agarang maitayo at mapagalaw ang Incident Command System sa mga panahong nagkakaroon ng sakuna o kalamidad.

Ipinaliwanag din ni Jayco ang organizational set-up ng ICS sa provincial level; operation section field set-up; Group Response Approach (GRA); Cluster Response Approach (CRA); at Branch Response Approach (BRA). Ipinakita din niya ang Bulusan Volcano Hazard Map upang higit na maunawaan ang mga posibleng komunidad na maaaring maapektuhan ng aktibidad ng bulkan.

Samantala, nananatiling nasa Zero Alert level ang Bulkang Bulusan at patuloy pa ring pinapayagan ang mga nais umakyat na mga turista at mountaineers sa nasabing bulkan. (BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon)

SSC records five more Nat’l placers

SORSOGON CITY, May 28 – The latest batch of board exam takers from Sorsogon State College in the April 2013 Registered Electrical Engineer (R.E.E) and the Registered Master Electrician (R.M.E) exams recorded five individuals who garnered places in the top ten best performing students.

Kevin D. Destreza and Kathleen Mae S. Ariate, fresh graduates, headlined the college’s triumph in the April 2013 exams when they both placed second in their respective exams. Destreza was second in the R.E.E with a rating of 86.90 percent; he was also sixth in the R.M.E with an 83.50 percent rating. Ariate, with an 85.50 percent rating in the R.M.E, shared the second spot with a student from the Technological Institute of the Philippines – Quezon City. She is yet to take her R.E.E. test in September 2013.

Meanwhile, three other fresh graduates held places in the R.M.E, they are: Dan Dave M. Garcia, 7th place (83.00 percent); Ariel M. Romero, 7^th place (83.00 percent); and Ben E. Hubilla, 8^th place (82.00 percent). Ariate shared her sentiments about the result in an interview:

“I found the exam to be surprisingly hard.  My classmates who already took the same exam last year said it was easy because the type of questions can be found in the reviewers; however it is not the case this time. I felt that I was going to fail but thank God I did not,” she humbly said in a text message. She is currently enrolled in a review center in Manila where she prepares for the September 2013 R.E.E test.

Over-all, SSC’s performance in the April exams is also impressive. Thirteen out of the sixteen first-time takers passed, while one out of the eight repeaters passed. In all, fourteen passed while ten failed for an over-all passing percentage of 58.33 percent.  Last September 2012’s record was 67.13 percent. In the national scope, the Professional Regulation Commission announced that 644 out of the 1, 666 passed the R.E.E and 773 out of the 1, 875 hurdled the R.M.E licensure examinations.

Ariate, Destreza and the other placers are expected to receive cash incentives from SSC sometime this next academic year in a victory celebration for board passers and placers.

Meanwhile, PRC also announced that the registration for the issuance of Professional Identification Card (ID) and Certificate of Registration will be on May 15, 16 and 17, 2013.

Registrants are required to bring a duly accomplished Oath Form or Panunumpa ng Propesyonal, current Community Tax Certificate (cedula), 1 piece passport size picture (colored with white background and complete name tag), 2 sets of metered documentary stamps and 1 short brown envelope with name and profession and to pay the Initial Registration Fee of P600 and Annual Registration Fee of P450 for 2013-2016 for R.E.E; Initial Registration Fee of P450 and Annual Registration Fee of P420 for 2013-2016 for R.M.E. Successful examinees should personally register and sign in the Roster of Registered Professionals. (Mark Gregory D. Gacosta, SSC/PIA Sorsogon)

DTI inilahad ang iba pang maaaring pagkakitaan ng mga Sorsoganon

Bamboo-Dining Set

Ni: Bennie A. Recebido

LUNGSOD NG SORSOGON, May 28 (PIA) – Hindi lamang pili ang maaaring gawing champion product ng lalawigan ng Sorsogon.  Ayon sa Department of Trade and Industry Sorsogon, sagana ang lalawigan ng Sorsogon sa iba’t-ibang mga uri ng mga pananim na maaaring mapagkunan ng mga materyales na maaaring pagsimulan ng mga bagong produkto at pagkakitaan.

Isa sa mga isinusulong ngayon ng DTI Sorsogon ay ang pagpapalago ng industriya ng kawayan o bamboo mula sa pagpapadami nito hanggang sa maging panibagong produkto ito.

Ayon kay DTI Sorsogon Provincial Director Leah Pagao, nasa mga bayan ng Bulan, Castilla, Pto. Diaz at Pilar ang pinakamagagandang uri ng kawayan sa Sorsogon. 

Bamboo - Sala Set

Aniya, dahilan sa ang kawayan o bamboo ang isa sa tinitingnan ngayon na may marketability potential at maaaring maging daan upang makilala ang Sorsogon pagdating sa mga produktong world class, hinihikayat nila ang mga Sorsoganon na bigyang-pansin ang industriya ng kawayan at patuloy na tumuklas ng mga disenyo at produktong gawa sa kawayan.

Bamboo - Flooring

Kabilang sa mga produktong maaaring magawa mula sa kawayan ay mga muwebles tulad ng mesa, upuan at cabinet. Maaari ding maproseso ang malalaking kawayan at gawing pansahig, pandingding o kisame ang tabla ng kawayan.

Naririyan naman ang Provincial Small and Medium Enterprise Development Council (PSMEDC) na handang tumulong upang mapalago ang unti-unti na ngayong nakikilalang industriya ng kawayan. Tumutulong din ang PSMEDC upang maisulong ang mga proyektong prayoridad gawin ngayong taon ng DTI tulad ng pagsasaayos ng sistema sa pagnenegosyo at paglilisensya, pagpapalago ng industriya ng kawayan, coco coir at paggawa ng pili geographical indicator.

Samantala, maging ang Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Bicol ay pinag-aaralan na rin kung papaanong makapagtatayo ng Bambusetum o bamboo nursery nang sa gayon ay makapagpatubo ng mas marami at iba-ibang uri ng kawayan. Sa pamamagitan ng Bambusetum ay mas madaling makakakuha ng pananim ang sinumang nais pumasok sa industriyang ito. (BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon)

EDC Bacman strengthens partnerships with host barangays

EDC-IEC held in Sto. Nino, Bacon

SORSOGON CITY, MAY 27 (PIA) – With the continuing efforts to enhance relationship with its host communities through meaningful programs, Energy Development Corporation (EDC) Bacman has made considerable strides in uplifting the lives of residents in its partner barangays. One of this is the Barangay Sto. Niño in Bacon District, Sorsogon City.

During the Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Campaign held at Sto.  Niño Barangay Chapel on May 24, 2013, EDC Bacman representatives discussed the company’s health, education, livelihood and environmental initiatives within the community.

Some 118 residents attended and actively participated in the said IEC.

“We started holding IECs for our host communities last year, and after campaigns with six barangays and one sitio, we saw that there was room for improvement, particularly with what we were sharing with our partners. We were missing some topics that they were interested in, and were not addressing some issues that increased the likelihood of speculation and misunderstanding among them,” EDC Bacman CPD Sr. Supervisor Ed Jimenez said.

Having a new IEC format, the EDC Bacman campaign now goes beyond providing a standard accomplishment report for its community. Starting with Brgy. Sto. Niño, all IEC campaigns of EDC Bacman will now be tailored to the leading issues and concerns of each community, designed to encourage active dialogue with the residents.

Jimenez said that with its sustained CSR programs and the enhanced IEC, EDC Bacman continues to give its host community residents the means and the knowledge to empower them to improve their lives.

To enhance the residents’ understanding of EDC’s operations, Ms. Adelaida Lagante and Ms. Jing Maceda, the Pollution Control Officers of Bacman Geothermal, Inc., discussed the geothermal operations and its impact in the community.

Also, apart from reporting the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) efforts, EDC’s IEC team has created a more responsive, thorough and relevant program that is designed to develop host community residents into well-informed and involved partners.

On the environmental front, EDC Bacman has encouraged waste segregation through an educational campaign and the donation of trash cans to schools, health centers and the barangay offices. Sto. Niño Elementary and High Schools are also the company’s partners in the “BINHI Tree for the Future” program, a greening program conceptualized by Oscar M. Lopez, chairman of the Lopez Group Inc. Binhi’s whole idea is reforestation focusing on the prime endangered Philippine tree species, bringing back the vanishing trees that are highly valued and those that are native to the Philippines.

Brgy. Captain Antonio D. Diolata in his message affirmed that the positive impact of EDC Bacman in the lives of their constituents has already been felt. He likewise thanked the efforts made by the EDC in considering their needs and in continuously giving priority assistance to Brgy. Sto. Niño.

Meanwhile, it can be recalled that in 2012, EDC Bacman has provided 60 high school scholarships, subsidized miscellaneous fees and provided school bags and supplies for 442 primary school students of Brgy. Sto. Niño.

Under the healthcare program, EDC Bacman served 535 patients during its last medical mission in the said place. EDC Bacman also provided medicines and medical supplies to the Barangay Health Center and assisted the health center’s physical improvement by providing assorted construction materials.

Brgy. Sto Nino has at least 292 residents who are members of the Federation of Bacman Host Communities (FEDBAHC) who enjoy various priority livelihood engagements with EDC Bacman. (BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon/MTejada, EDC)

Comelec will pursue election offenses against violators

QUEZON CITY, May 25 -- The proclamation of winners in the May 13 elections will continue next week.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will also pursue cases against election law offenders, including those who put up illegal posters.

"Whether (candidates) win or lose, the election offense has been committed. Pwede silang matanggal kung ma-convict sila later (Those elected can be unseated if convicted later)," said Comelec Chairman Sixto Brilliantes as he confirmed that their legal department continues to collect evidence and prepare cases.

Meanwhile, either Monday or Tuesday, Chairman Brilliantes said Comelec will have a resolution that bears the final list of the remaining winning organizations and the individual nominees that will be proclaimed.

"We have to come up with a ruling (this weekend) in so far as the 12 disqualified parytlist groups are concerned," said Brilliantes, "the first 14 (proclaimed partylist groups) will not be affected whether we compute the 12 disqualified (partylists groups) or not."

The poll body has proclaimed, on Friday morning, the first batch of partylists which gained significant number of canvassed votes that guaranteed each of them a seat at the House of Representatives (House) based on Comelec Resolution No.006-13.

The proclamation is based on a 7-0 unanimous Comelec En Banc decision.

These are Buhay, A Teacher, Bayan Muna, 1-Care, Akbayan, Ako Bicol, Abono, OFW Family, Gabriela, Coopnatcco, AGAP, CIBAC, Magdalo and An Waray.

"There is a possibility that these partylists (the first batch) will have more than one nominee. So we rather issue the certificate of proclamation not necessary today (Friday) but any time hereafter," said Brilliantes.

To earn a seat in the lower house, an organization must get a threshold of two percent from the total number of votes cast for partylists.

Two percent is about 150,000 - 200,000 votes: a partylist may have a maximum of three representations which are about six percent.

Partylists with lower than the two-percent threshold may still a shot at the House: they have to compete for unoccupied slots that needed to be filled up.

There are a total of 44 slots remaining for partylists representations in the House. But there is no hope for partylist groups that gathered only 10,000 - 15,000 votes, Brilliantes said.

The raising of hands of winning nominees will not happen in cases of partylists because, Brilliantes said, as they can only proclaim parties and not persons. (Lyndon Plantilla/Media ng Bayan)