903rd Inf Bgde at 9IB pinarangalan bilang Best Brigade at Best Battalion

Ni: Bennie A. Recebido

LUNGSOD NG SORSOGON, April 18 (PIA) – Kinilala ng Philippine Army Headquarters ang 903^rd Infantry Brigade at ang 9^th Infantry Battalion bilang Best Infantry Brigade at Best Infantry Battalion ng 9^th Infantry Division para sa taong 2011.

Tinaggap ni Col. Felix Castro, Jr., Commanding Officer ng 903^rd Infantry Brigade ang Commanding General Philippine Army Award of Merit at Command Plaque na personal na iginawad ni 9ID Asst. Division Commander Col. Aurelio Baladad.

Ayon kay Col. Castro, nakamit nila ang prestihiyosong parangal dahilan na rin sa sipag ng kanyang mga tauhan at sa magandang samahan sa pagitan nila at ng iba’t-ibang mga ahensya at organisasyon na naging daan upang matagumpay nilang maipatupad ang kanilang pangkapayapaan at pangkaunlarang programa sa lalawigan ng Sorsogon at Masbate.

Isa sa mga naging focus area nila ay ang Brgy. Pandan sa Castilla, Sorsogon na dating pinamumugaran ng mga rebeldeng New People’s Army subalit sa masigasig na pagtutulungan ng mga militar at pamayanan ay tuluyan nang nawala ito noong 2009 at nakapamuhay ng payapa ang mga residente hanggang sa kasalukuyan.

Matatandaang matagumpay na naipatupad ang “Tarabangan sa Brgy. Pandan” Project na naging daan upang makapagtayo ng mga bagong silid-aralan, makapaglagay ng kalsada at irrigation canal, makapagsagawa ng feeding program, maipakilala ang industriya ng abaca at makapag-sponsor ng mga iskolar ang 903^rd Inf Bgde sa pakikipagtulungan sa iba’t-ibang mga ahensya ng pamahalaan at pribadong institusyon.

Naging aktibo din ang 903^rd Inf Brgde sa pagpapatupad ng Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) Program at pagtulong sa mga medical mission partikular sa malalayong barangay ng Castilla, Casiguran at Matnog, Sorsogon.

Suportado din nito ang School of Peace Program ng Bicol Consortium for Peace Education and Development na pinondohan ng Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Proces (OPAPP).

Sa kasalukuyan ay balak din ng 903^rd Inf Brgde na makapagtayo ng “Green Camp” sa lupang donasyon sa kanila ni Castilla Mayor Olive Bermillo bilang dagdag pang kontribusyon ng kanilang mga kasundaluhan sa pangangalaga sa kalikasan.

Ayon pa kay Col. Castro, ang mga nagawa nila at gagawin pa ay patunay na ang pagkamit ng kapayapaan at kaunlaran ay hindi lamang nakukuha sa pamamagitan ng pagrerebelde sa pamahalaan at pakikipaglaban bagkus ay sa tulungang pagsisikap at kontribusyong maaaring maibigay, maging ito man ay grupo o indibidwal. (WCQuerubin, PA/BArecebido, PIA Sorsogon)

PNP SORPPO Padagos An Pagsuporta Sa Pulis Makakalikasan

Sorsogon Police Provincial Office, April 17 – Sa Pagpapadagos kan proyekto kan PNP na inapod na “Pulis Makakalikasan: 10 Milyong Puno, Pamana Sa Kinabukasan, nagkaigwa nin Tree Planting activity an mga pulis na nakabase sa Provincial Headquarters Sorsogon Police Provincial Office. Sa pakikipagkoordinar sa Energy Development Corporation (EDC), nagtaranom sinda nin 500 na   poon nin kahoy sa EDC Compound Brgy Rizal, Sorsogon City kan Abril 11, 2012.

Maguiguiromdoman na ang aktibidad na ini magpapadagaos pa hanggang sa Pebrero 2013, kun saen ang sarong pulis dapat na makatanom nin anom na poon nin kahoy kada bulan sagkod sa nanambitan na petsa.

An naonambitan na aktibidad pinangenotan kan SOR PPO Staff Officers na sinda PSUPT EL CID T ROLDAN, PCI NONITO F MARQUEZ asin ang Chief PCR/PIO na si PCI RUBEN D PADUA JR.  (PNP-SPPO/PIA Sorsogon)

 (Photo by: PO2 Mike Espena, SPPO/PIA Sorsogon)

NGCP conducts earthquake and fire drill as part of integrated disaster action plan

QUEZON CITY, April 17 – To prepare its employees should a calamity strike during work hours, the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) recently conducted an earthquake and fire drill at its office grounds in Diliman, Quezon City. 

According to NGCP Spokesperson Atty. Cynthia P. Alabanza, the activity is part of the company’s Integrated Disaster Action Plan (IDAP) which aims to protect not just power transmission facilities such as lines, posts and towers physically exposed to calamities, but more importantly, the lives of its employees.

“To address emergencies specific to earthquakes and fires, NGCP, in coordination with the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) of Quezon City, conducted evacuation drills and safety exercises last March 12,” said Alabanza.

NGCP’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) facilitated the drills, which included evacuation procedures, demonstrations on first aid treatment and the proper use of fire extinguishers.

The IDAP provides guidelines and coordinated procedures in preparing and coping with typhoons, heavy rains, floods, landslides, tornadoes, fires, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunami.  It also lays out specific tasks and assignments per group that would expedite power restoration processes during actual emergencies.  

Preparations include, among others, posting of line crews in strategic pre-selected locations to speed up actual deployment, inspection and evaluation of damages on facilities; postponement of all scheduled transmission line and substation shutdowns in the affected areas until such time that the situation has stabilized; and the provision of back-up telecommunication facilities, equipment, vehicles, line materials and hardware necessary for the immediate repair of transmission facilities.

One overall and four regional command centers oversee and coordinate all restoration efforts and monitor the operational status of all affected transmission lines and substations. (NGCP/ PIA Sorsogon)

AESIEAP delegates visit NGCP’s National Control Center

QUEZON CITY, April 17 – Foreign and local participants of the Association of Electricity Supply Industry of East Asia and the Western Pacific (AESIEAP) recently visited the refurbished National Control Center (NCC) of the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).

NGCP Spokesperson Atty. Cynthia P. Alabanza said that said foreign and local delegates coming from China, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, and the Philippines also participated in the conference held at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City last February.

“The participants went on a technical tour of the newly-renovated NCC where they were given an overview of the operation of the Philippine power grid,” said Alabanza.

According to her, presentations on NGCP’s existing assets, major planning considerations, system peak demand forecasts, and major challenges were included in their visit to further familiarize them with the day-to-day operations of the Philippine power sector specifically that of NCC, which is regarded as the heart of the NGCP operations.

NGCP also presented the delegates with its programs for management enhancement. Along with its technical partners from the State Grid Corporation of China (SGCC), NGCP continuously implements programs that aim to sustain its progress.

The 6-S Management Philosophy of Stability of the System, Standardization, Speed up Projects, Smart Grid Technology, Saving Expenditures and Support to Renewable Energy Development offered the visitors a glimpse of the management’s current and future plans. (NGCP/ PIA Sorsogon)

Foreign and local delegates to the Association of Electricity Supply Industry of East Asia and the Western Pacific (AESIEAP) conference in Quezon City recently visited the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to know more about the country’s grid operations. (NGCP, PIA Sorsogon)

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National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) Quezon Ave. cor. BIR Rd., Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines Telephone +632 981-2143 / +632 981-2142 Fax +632 922-2684 E-mail corpcomm@ngcp.ph Website: www.ngcp.ph Twitter: @NGCP_ALERT Facebook: www.facebook.com/1NGCP

903rd Brigade and 9IB chosen as 9ID’s Best for 2011

SORSOGON CITY, April 16 – The 903^rd Infantry (Fight and Defend) Brigade and the 9^th Infantry (Sandigan) Battalion was recently chosen by Headquarters, Philippine Army as the best infantry brigade and best infantry battalion of the 9th Infantry (Spear) Division for the year 2011. The two units had the slight edge over the other units of the division in terms of accomplishments last year. For that, they were given the Award of Merit by the Commanding General of the Philippine Army and the Command Plaque by Commander, 9ID.

Considering the imperatives of IPSP “Bayanihan” and its emphasis on both combat and non-combat dimensions of military operations, the Brigade pursued efforts to link with agencies that could help in the development of the communities in Sorsogon and Masbate. It has opted to focus its efforts in a certain area rather than have projects in many dispersed barangays. By pouring in development projects in a selected focus area, the improvement could easily be felt by the people and there is a higher chance of success. Neighboring communities will eventually also benefit from the improvement economic environment.

The first Brigade focus area is Brgy Pandan in Castilla, Sorsogon which used to be influenced by the NPAs before the area was cleared in 2009. The “Tarabangan sa Brgy Pandan” Project started with the construction of a two-classroom building sponsored by ABS-CBN Foundation, Inc. Sagip Kapamilya for Pandan High School. Other projects soon followed after the initiative of ABS-CBN: one classroom building funded by Cong Escudero; another classroom building funded by DepEd; two-classroom (2 story) building funded by DepEd; 5 road improvement projects programmed for this year; ongoing cementing of the irrigation canal (P30mln) funded by DA; the recently concluded 6 month feeding program by ABS-CBN; and the introduction of abaca growing by FIDA. The Brigade also has 6 Bayanihan Iskolars sponsored by ABS-CBN and The Lewis College in Sorsogon City.

Another two-classroom building in Cabancalan Elementary School in Aroroy, Masbate (our second focus area) also sponsored by Sagip Kapamilya was inaugurated last January. The Mayor of Aroroy has committed funds for the cooperatives of the women’s organization and the BDS. He also promised to build a high school next year. Two scholarship slots will also be given by ABS-CBN aside from the feeding program. Funds are now being sourced for the concreting of the road.

The Brigade has been active in the programs of the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA). The two provinces in its area have received funds for development- Sorsogon got P30mln (for 7 focus municipalities) and Masbate received P50mln (for 3 focus municipalities). The PAMANA Convergence Unit for Sorsogon which involves representatives from the different government agencies

has been a good venue for us to recommend projects and target areas for development.

We have been able to bring medical services to far-flung barangays. Noteworthy to mention is a medical mission conducted by the Spanish NGO Asociacion Valenciana de Asistencia Sanitaria y Social Voluntarios (AVASSV) in Brgys Pandan and Amomonting of Castilla and San Pascual in Casiguran, Sorsogon. The television program Alagang Kapatid of TV5 also had a medical mission in Brgy Calintaan, Matnog, Sorsogon.

We support the School of Peace Program of the Bicol Consortium for Peace Education and Development (BCPED) which is funded by OPAPP. Soldiers are always involved in the activities of San Isidro Elementary School in Castilla which is a pilot School of Peace. We have convinced Dr Herbert Rosana Ph.D, BCPED Director and Head of the Department of Peace Studies of Bicol University, to include the public schools in the municipality of Castilla in the School of Peace Program. A proposal has been made for this to happen.

The municipality of Castilla led by Mayor Olive Bermillo has recently donated a 2-hectare lot for the brigade headquarters. Another hectare will be given this year. The Deed of Donation was signed last 17 November by Gen Eduardo SL Oban Jr, CSAFP, and Mayor Bermillo. We intend to build a “green camp” where our soldiers could contribute to the environment.

In addition to our active partnership with the stakeholders towards the development of these provinces, the Brigade also gave equal efforts in meeting the threats posed by those who hinder development. Last year, we were able to recover 68 assorted firearms in several encounters including a Cal .30 light machine gun, two AK47 rifles and M16 rifles. 67 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were also recovered. We were able to repulse the attack by the NPAs against some police stations and military detachment.

Looking back, the Brigade has been able to perform exceedingly well in its combat and non-combat operations. This could be attributed to a pool of well-motivated, well-trained and experienced personnel who gets the job done. (903^rd Bgde, PA/PIA Sorsogon)