Solidarity Action for the Protection of Bicol Seas and Marine Ecosystems highlights visit of Greenpeace’s MY Esperanza in Donsol

MY Esperanza

By: Bennie A. Recebido

DONSOL, SORSOGON, July 19 (PIA) – More than a thousand of Sorsoganons are expected to participate in a rare but solid community action against activities detrimental to the protection of the Bicol Seas and sustaining Marine Ecosytem in the Bicol Region especially that of Burias-Ticao Pass and Donsol waters, on Saturday, July 20, 2013 to be held in Donsol, Sorsogon.

Greenpeace Southeast Asia Media Assistant AC Dimatatac in a coordination meeting with PIA Sorsogon said, the Local Government Units (LGUs) of Sorsogon, Albay and Masbate in collaboration with Greenpeace‘s Ocean Defender Tour Philippine Leg Bicol stop initiated the solidarity activity dubbed as “Lakbay Para sa Kadagatan, Pasiring sa Sustenableng Pangisdaan” (Walk for the Seas, Moving to Sustainable Fisheries).

“The solid community action will gather fisher folks, LGUs and government agency officials, environment advocates, church leaders, scientists, civil society and non-government organization representatives as they call on efficient program implementation and stricter enforcement of laws to ensure protection of the Bicol seas,” said Ms. Dimatatac.

Government officials are also invited to include Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Sorsogon 1st District Representative Evie Escudero, Sorsogon Governor Raul R. Lee, Albay Governor Joey S. Salceda, Masbate Governor Rizalina S. Lanete, Pilar town Mayor Dennis Sy-Reyes and Donsol Municipal Mayor Josephine Alcantara-Cruz to render Message of Commitment.

Ms. Dimatatac also said that issues and concerns raised during the Forum of Fisher Folks and Bantay Dagat in October last year will be re-visited and with the commitment to be given by the government leaders and stakeholders who will be there, hopefully certain problems will be addressed.

The activity will be highlighted with a Solidarity Walk for the Sea where participating stakeholders will hold a unity walk from Donsol Municipal Park and will converge in Dancalan Beach for other activities. Mass for the Integrity of Creation and Blessing will also be offered.

Following a community program, where messages from various officials will be delivered and testimonies of best practices will be shared, a Fisher folk Flotilla will be held.

Said Fisher folk Flotilla will gather thousands of fisher folks who will sail the seas of Burias-Ticao Pass and will symbolically mark the municipal waters with their boats and declare it off-limits to commercial fishers. More than 200 motorbancas will be joining the activity.

Media were also invited to cover the event and a press conference will be conducted. Greenpeace and local partners are also open to a one-on-one media interviews.

The call to save Burias-Ticao Pass from marine degradation and overfishing and to enforce 15-km municipal waters will be plastered in a creatively designed banner and will be signed by the newly elected officials from the municipal, provincial, congressional and up to the senate level.

Likewise, Greenpeace’s iconic ship MY Esperanza, fresh from its tour apprehending destructive fishing activities in Thailand and promoting in a grand way for an oceans solution, will be in Donsol on July 20.

The visit of MY Esperanza in Burias-Ticao Pass and in waters of Donsol is part of its contribution to the existing initiatives to protect the said bodies of water and rid it from destruction such as illegal fishing and overfishing. “Donsol, being one of the top tourist destinations in the world must also be protected against marine ecosystems degradation,” said Ms. Dimatatac.

“The presence of the ship here will help us move forward the campaign against overfishing by highlighting the problem due to the presence of illegal commercial fishing vessels and the need for solutions work,” she further added.

Burias-Ticao Pass is the body of water between Sorsogon and Masbate considered to be the Manta Bowl, while Donsol is the Whale Shark Capital of the Philippines. They are among the areas in the world with highest concentrations of plankton due to the strong currents from San Bernardino Strait. These currents push large groups of plankton and other organisms to gather in the area, making this an ideal cleaning and feeding stations for the manta ray and whalesharks.

MY Esperanza was also in Apo Island in Dumaguete on June 9, 2013 to inspire their local communities that there is still hope for Apo Island Marine Reserves.  It can be noted that strong typhoons have brought serious destructions to the island’s marine sanctuary.

The community activity on Saturday will be culminated by a Boodle Fight to symbolize that everyone present is in agreement in protecting seas and sustaining marine ecosystem in Bicol. (BARecebido, PIA Sosogon)

Orientation-Briefing para sa mga empleyado isasagawa ng SPDRRMO

Ni: Bennie A. Recebido

LUNGSOD NG SORSOGON, Hulyo 18 (PIA) – Pangungunahan ng Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office (PDRRMO) ang gagawing Orientation-Briefing para sa mga empleyado ng pamahalaang lalawigan ng Sorsogon bukas, Hulyo 19.

Ayon kay SPDRRMO Department Head Engr. Raden Dimaano, ang isang araw na aktibidad ay alinsunod sa pagpapatupad ng Republic Act 10121, Rule 10, Section 3.

Aniya, nakasaad sa nasabing probisyon na dapat na sumailalaim sa mandatory training ang mga manggagawa ng pamahalaan kaugnay ng pagpapaigting pa sa kahandaan at pagtugon ng mga ito sa panahong may kalamidad. Partikular na tinututukan nito ang gender responsiveness, sensitivity to indigenous knowledge system, at pagrespeto sa karapatang pantao.

Dagdag din niya na kung handa ang bawat isa sa komunidad, maiiwasan ang pagbubuwis ng buhay at malalaki pang perwisyo sa mga ari-arian sakaling may dumarating na kalamidad.

Kabilang sa mga paksang pag-uusapan ay ang Hydro Met Hazard na tatalakayin ni Weather Specialist Hernando Pantoja, Jr. ng PAGASA-Juban at Geological Hazard lalo na ang mga panganib dala ng lindol at pagputok ng bulkan na tatalakayin naman ni Supervising Science Research Specialist Engr. Eduardo Laguerta ng Phivolcs.

Si Provincial Fire Marshal Chief Inspector Achilles M. Santiago ng Bureau of Fire Protection Sorsogon ang siyang magbibigay ng paliwanag ukol sa mga panganib dala ng sunog.

Matapos ang mga paliwanag ay magkakaroon naman ng open forum kung saan bibigyan ng pagkakataon ang mga kalahok na makapagtanong upang higit pang maliwanagan ang kanilang mga agam-agam o katanungan kaugnay ng mga paksang tinalakay.

Ang aktibidad ay bahagi din ng obserbasyon ng National Disaster Consciousness Month ngayong taon na may temang “Ligtas na Bayan, Maunlad na Pamayanan”. (BArecebido, PIA Sorsogon)

Sorsogon City government takes issues one step at a time

By: Bennie A. Recebido

SORSOGON CITY July 18 (PIA) – The administration of the newly elected Sorsogon City Mayor Sally A. Lee faces issues that bring headache yet big challenge to the local chief executive.

City Administrator Atty. Cesar J. Balmaceda disclosed that the major pain from the time Mayor Sally Ante Lee’s administration took over is the City Government’s shortfall in finances.

“We still have the resources. However, from the P25-M per month Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) of the city government, P18 million goes to the salaries of our permanent employees. At this point in time, we can’t even afford to pay for contractual workers and in like manner, our traffic enforcers,” the City Administrator explained.

Furthermore, the City Government pays for its regular electric consumption bill which normally values roughly at P1-M monthly.

The administrator also bared another fiscal constraint they are facing is the gasoline consumption of the 11 serviceable garbage trucks. “Sorsogon LGU is just lucky that the Provincial Government is providing us two more trucks to shore up our garbage collection in the meantime that we are in tight budget,” Atty. Balmaceda said adding that for a week’s gas spending, the City Government pays up to P118 thousand which gets to more or less half-a-million in a month’s time.

But, one step at a time, the new City Administration is getting to the bottom of every concern. On the issue of garbage collection, Atty. Balmaceda said for the time being, the city’s traffic enforcers, street cleaners and garbage collectors are doing their job on their own free will.

He likewise divulged that the previous administration ran off with P7-M worth of unpaid salaries for June 2013 of 2,000 contractual workers. “We are at present trying to find means to pay these employees,” he said.

City Administrator Balmaceda also said that the City Government for the past six years never had the chance to achieve the prestigious Seal of Good Housekeeping (SGH). “So, bear with us, we are only 10 days old” he said.

The statistics mentioned were revealed during an initial dialogue with stakeholders to introduce a traffic scheme which takes action to various grievances of drivers, commuters and businesses along Sorsogon City’s main thoroughfares.

For more than a year now, tricycle operators and drivers, commuters and business owners have been complaining about the one-way traffic scheme which the past administration had implemented specifically along the main thoroughfare – Rizal and Magsaysay Streets – hence, the suggestion to bring back the old two-way traffic scheme.

The new two-way traffic system suggests best solution for the new administration to consider as an answer to linking problems which affected the city, beginning with the traffic flow; locations which cause traffic congestion; holding, waiting, and dispatch areas for North and South-bound tri-mobile, jeepneys, vans and buses; loading, unloading and parking areas; and proposed traffic lights along the city’s major intersections.

The City Government marks implementation of a new traffic scheme by August this year.

Earlier, Mayor Sally Lee emphasized the need to re-establish the two-way traffic system, particularly along Sorsogon City’s main access roads under one of her Team Sally slogans “BISAY NA TRAPIKO, GINHAWA KAN GABOS!” (Orderly Traffic, Relief of All). (BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon/VAL, PIO)

SSF Project sa Sorsogon ilulunsad ng DTI

Ni: Bennie A. Recebido

LUNGSOD NG SORSOGON, Hulyo 18 (PIA) – Nakatakdang ilunsad ng Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Sorsogon bukas, Hulyo 19, ang dalawang proyektong tinawag nilang Shared Service Facility (SSF) na may kaugnayan sa mga nasa sektor ng pagkain sa lalawigan ng Sorsogon.

Ayon kay Public Information Officer Senen Malaya ng DTI Sorsogon ang SSF ay isa sa mga prayoridad na programang ipinatutupad ng DTI  para sa pagpapaunlad pa ng Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sa lalawigan.

Aniya, isa sa mga SSF na tinagurian nilang Sorsogon City Food Processing and Packaging Facility ay tutugon sa pangangailangan ng iba-ibang kagamitang pang-industriya na kailangan ng mga nagpoproseso ng pili, prutas at gulay.

Kasama din dito ang pagbibigay ng mga kagamitan sa pagpoproseso at pagbabalot ng mga produkto na higit pang magpapa-angat sa antas ng produksyon at kalidad ng mga produktong pagkain ng mga gumagawa nito sa Sorsogon.

Ayon pa kay Ginoong Malaya, ang SSF na matatagpuan sa Sorsogon State College Sorsogon City Campus ay nagkakahalaga ng P875,000.

Bilang co-operator, ang SSC ang susubaybay sa operasyon ng pasilidad na inaasahang tutulong sa 72 na mga SME sa buong lalawigan at makapagbibigay ng 120 trabaho sa mga Sorsoganon.

Kasama din sa ilulunsad ang Prieto Diaz Deboned Danggit Processing Project na matatagpuan sa Brgy. Sabang, Prieto Diaz, Sorsogon. Layunin naman ng proyektong ito na nagkakahalaga ng P675,000 na matulungan ang mga nasa industriya ng pagpoproseso ng isda.

Cooperator naman nito ang Seamancor Eco-Developers (Seamancor), isang people’s organization na nagsusulong sa pangangalaga sa ekolohiya at pagpapalago ng kabuhayan. Inaasahang mabibiyayaan ng produktong ito ang 20 nagpoproseso ng isda o danggit sa Pto. Diaz at katabing mga bayan nito. Inaasahan ding makapagbibigay ito ng 130 trabaho.

Maliban sa ilulunsad na SSF, may apat pang prayoridad na proyekto ang DTI-Sorsogon na inaprubahan na rin ng DTI Regional Office 5. Ito ay ang SSF na kinabibilangan ng mga kagamitan para sa mga tagahabi ng produktong handicraft sa mga bayan ng Barcelona at Casiguran kasama na ang Bacon District sa Sorsogon City pati na rin ang industrial-type na gamit para sa pagpapaganda pa ng mga produktong bamboo o kawayan.

Sa kabuuan, umaabot sa P5,085,500 ang halaga ng anim na mga pasilidad na ito at tinatayang makapagbibigay ng 1,000 trabaho sa mga Sorsoganon.

Ayon pa kay Ginoong Malaya, target ng DTI-Sorsogon na makumpleto ang kabuuang bilang na 10 SSF sa probinsya ng Sorsogon ngayong taon. (BARecebido, PIA Sorsogon/DTI)