ECo-Friendly Kids

KIDS PLAY. Schoolmates from Puro Elementary School shift their weekend play hours to an eco-friendly kids play during the International Coastal Clean Up Day last Saturday (September 17). Scores of marine debris are hauled out from Albay Gulf by hundreds of Legazpeño volunteers which attended the weekend coastal cleanup, and among them are 56 students from the said school. (Photo by JESSEL S. BASANTA, DENR-EMB/PIA Sorsogon)

Kasanggayahan Festival 2011 opisyal nang sisimulan bukas

Ni: Bennie A. Recebido

Lungsod ng Sorsogon, September 30 (PIA) – Pormal nang isasagawa ang pagbubukas ng Kasanggayahan Festival 2011, bukas, araw ng Sabado, Oktubre 1, dito sa lalawigan ng Sorsogon.

May temang “Going Beyond: Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Towards Sustainable Development, isasagawa ang grand opening ceremonies ala-una ng hapon.

Sa programang ipinalabas ng Sorsoganon Kita, Inc., ang punong-abala sa ika-117 anibersaryo ng pagkakatatag ng Sorsogon bilang isang lalawigan, sisimulan ang aktibidad sa pamamagitan ng isang parada mula sa Capitol Park patungo sa Balogo Sports Complex, Sorsogon City.

Susundan kaagad ito ng ribbon cutting at pagbasbas sa lugar kung saan gaganapin ang mga aktibidad, public walk at banner raising.

Matapos ang ecumenical prayer ay susundan ito ng opening remarks ni Msgr. Francisco Monje, chairman ng Kasanggayahan Foundation, Inc.

Inaasahang magbibigay naman ng mensahe sina Sorsogon 1^st District Congressman Salvador H. Escudero III, Sorsogon 2^nd District Congressman Deogracias Ramos, Jr., Sorsogon Gov. Raul R. Lee, Department of Tourism Bicol Regional Director Maria O. Ravanilla at Sorsogon City Mayor Leovic R. Dioneda, Guest of Honor naman si Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero.

Susundan ito ng paggawad ng plake ng pasasalamat sa guest of honor, deklarasyon ng pormal na pagbubukas ng Kasanggayahan Festival 2011 at pagpapakita sa publiko ng Kasanggayahan Festival 2011 billboard.

Inaabangan na rin sa gabi ang engrandeng fireworks display na gaganapin pa rin sa Balogo Sports Complex.

Ang Kasanggayahan Festival ang official festival ng Sorsogon at nagsisilbing kalipunan ng lahat ng mga festival sa labing-apat na munisipalidad at isang lungsod ng lalawigan na tumatampok sa kasaysayan, kultura at kabuhayan ng mga Sorsoganon. (PIA Sorsogon)

Tatlong bayan sa Sorsogon benepisyaryo ng KALAHI-CIDDS sa taong 2012

Ni: Bennie A. Recebido

Lungsod ng Sorsogon, September 30 (PIA) – Tatlo sa mga bayan ng Sorsogon ang bagong napabilang sa programang Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Services (KALAHI-CIDDS) ng Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Office sa susunod na taon.

Kabilang sa mga mabebenipisyuhan ng programa sa 2012 ay ang mga bayan ng Prieto Diaz, Gubat at Irosin habang ibabalik namang muli ang programa sa bayan ng Donsol.

Ayon kay KALAHI-CIDDS Regional Project Coordinator Arwin O. Razo, bahagi ito ng Millennium Chellenge kung saan magbibigay ng pondo sa bansa ang Estados Unidos para sa Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) at DSWD.

P450,000 ang ilalaan sa bawat munisipalidad na paghahati-hatiin sa mga barangay na nasasakupan nito habang 30 porsyento naman ng kabuuang halaga ang magiging tulong pinansyal ng lokal na pamahalaan.

Ang mga barangay diumano ang pipili ng proyekto o serbisyo ayon sa pangangailangan nito sa loob ng tatlong taon.

Samantala, binigyang-diin ni Provincial Social Welfare and Development (PSWD) Officer Sonia Mirasol na ang pagtutulungan ng mga sangkot na ahensya at benepisyaryo at tamang pagpapaintindi ng programa ang susi sa matagumpay na implementasyon nito.

Sinabi ni Mirasol na dati nang ginagawa ang pagpapatupad ng KALAHI-CIDDS progam sa bayan ng Donsol, subalit dahilan sa ilang mga kadahilanan ay pansamantalang natigil ito.

Sa ngayon, sa pagtutulungan umano ng mga ahensya ng pamahalaan at ng mga Local Government Units (LGUs), aminado si Mirasol na higit na magiging maaayos ang pagpapatupad ng programa lalo na sa mga piling benepisyaryo nito.

Aniya, 70 porsyento ng pondo ay manggagaling sa DSWD habang 20 porsyento naman ang magiging ambag ng LGU at 10 porsyento naman mula sa barangay.

Hiningi naman ni Mirasol ang kooperasyon ng mga local media sa pagpapaabot ng kaukulang impormasyon ukol sa programang ito sa publiko partikular sa mga Sorsoganong manginginabang sa tulong na ibibigay ng KALAHI-CIDDS. (PIA Sorsogon)

Feature : Castilla's Unod Festival 2011, a celebration of health and blessings

by Irma a. Guhit

SORSOGON CITY, SEPTEMBER 29 (PIA)...."The Unod Festival is the expression of thanksgiving of the people of Castilla, it means  a celebration of the bountiful harvest of rootcrops of out town and the value of being an industrious people," Mayor Olive Bermillo explained in a meeting with PIA here last Saturday, Sept. 24 when she was made to respond to the survey conducted by the agency this week.

"Everything now is on high gear as we will start the celebration of the Unod Festival, the official festival of the local government of Castilla to start this Sept. 30 up to October 8," Mayor Bermillo said.

Castilla in the province of Sorsogon is known to be one of the best farming towns here. Mostly all the people are dependent on the land produce of different varieties of rootcrops like camote, ube, cassava, gabi and uraro, hence the Unod Festival is a celebration of these abundance derived from the land and the continued value of people making best the value of the land.

The mayor also stressed that the Unod Festival is also a celebration of blessings the people received from government assistance to make farming their prime industry and the direction that the local government of Castilla has envisioned for the town making their rootcrops become the most viable source for livelihood to fight poverty and an expression of the industriousness of the people of Castilla.

"This 9-day celebration will highlight a display of the rootcrops produced by farmers in the Agro -Festival Fair to be participated in by our 39 barangays showcasing how these products were preserved, made into candies, used as add on to viands and how these are now becoming a favorite food to advocate  healthy lifestyle," Bermillo stressed.

"We have also dialogued here with our local officials, health workers and specially the Department of Education (DepEd) to make use of these rootcrops as the main snacks that should be served in the school canteens so that children will be made more aware that rootcrops are healthy food . It should also be the food to be served to visitors to help propel the economy of Castilla and eventually teach the next generation to do away with junk foods," Bermillo also explained.

Aside from the rootcrops, Castilla is also known as a fishing community and a fruit basket of the province.

People traveling in the national highway passing by the town of Castilla will always see the fruit stands beside the road abundant with year round local produce from the local variety of santol to Bangkok santol, pineapples, bread fruit, papaya, guyabano, atis, guava, biriran, melon and almost all local fruits and vegetables  found in the province but basically these rootcrops mentioned always are in abundance.

This year's festival will start with the Thanksgiving Mass on Sept. 30, at 1:00PM at the new Municipal Building to be attended by all employees, local officials, guests and the people of Castilla. It  will be followed by a press conference where the local media are invited.

A motorcade starting from Barangay Sugoy will pass by the barangays of Macalaya, Poblacion, La Union and to end at the Brgy. Cumadcad infront of the public market and at 7:00PM will be the coronation of the Mutya na Castilla.

An Agro-Trade Fair to run for one week will showcase all the local produce of the town to include the Unod Festival Photo Contest ,  Media Invitational Tour to the tourism destinations and agricultural potentials of the place,a fun run, mangrove tree planting, carabao race and other activities that will show the total potential of the town in terms of agriculture.

A street dancing and float parade competition, Search of Talentadong Castillano, Civic Military Parade with the participation of the drum and bugle corps of the schools are activities included in the festival also.

"We hope to attract investors to our place also specially in tourism development and agricultural opportunities as there are now big corporations here in Castilla like the Manzehing Corporation who is now on to agro- development here and who have invested specially in agriculture,"Bermillo also explained.

"The Unod Festival is just a means to propel our agricultural potential as a town and ultimately become a statement of development where the people of Castilla will be able to live a better quality of life out of the land they till and these produce they will share to the national and hopefully to the global markets as health foods are now the trend," Mayor Bermillio beamed with hope in the success of the celebration.(PIA-SORSOGON)

AKBAY confirms 209 beneficiaries for livelihood assistance in Sorsogon

by Irma A. Guhit

SORSOGON CITY, SEPTEMBER 29 (PIA).... A total of 209 beneficiaries were identified and confirmed by the Agrikultura: Kaagapay ng Bayang Pinoy Program (AKBAY) to receive a P10K livelihood assistance through the National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) funded by the government of Japan.

This was learned last Monday during the meeting held here orienting several heads of national government line agencies of the program particularly, the Department  of Trade and Industry , Philippine Information Agency,  the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist  (OPA)  with  former governor Sally Ante-Lee , Executive Director ,of the Sorsogon Provincial Management Office (SPMO).

A P4M livelihood assistance to run for three years, 2011-2013 will be given by the Japanese government to 4th and 5th class municipalities here in the province of Sorsogon.

For the first tranche recipients, identified were the local governments of Barcelona, Bulusan, Casiguran and Juban and for the second tranche, the municipalities of Prieto Diaz and Sta Magdalena will be included.

The livelihood assistance was evolved to help the poorest of the poor in the agriculture and fishery sectors in the whole Philippines with a P150M livelihood assistance for Luzon and Visayas while a bigger amount was earmarked for the  provinces in Mindanao, according to the representative of the NAPC.

OPA  assistant provincial government head ,Maria Theresa V. Destura, said that  the assistance to be provided to these identified beneficiaries is interest and collateral free.

She further said that the purpose is to primarily  provide the identified beneficiaries to better their lives, reduce poverty in the country side and  make agriculture and the fishery sector  gain ground specially in areas where people are engaged in agriculture and fishery as their main source of livelihood.

Before the distribution of the financial assistance, beneficiaries will undergo training, orientation and reorientation on entrepreneurial enhancement with the assistance of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

The livelihood assistance will be focused on short gestating scheme to zero in in crop production of mushroom culture, root crop production , backyard poultry raising while in the fishery component it identified seaweed , sea urchin, mussel, oysters , prawn, mud crab production and tilapia culture farming.

Equity on the part of beneficiaries will be land, labor cost and available facilities.

Destura said that the team that identified the beneficiaries had already conducted on site pre-evaluation , their farm household profile were already validated together with their project proposals and with a certification from the barangay captain of them being  residents of the barangay for the past 3 years.

Project launch of the AKBAY will be this October 28 at the Sorsogon Provincial Gymnasium and will form  part of the Kasanggayahan Festival 2011 celebration . (PIA-SORSOGON)

Tatlong festival sa Sorsogon ipagdiriwang sa buwan ng Oktubre

Ni: Bennie A. Recebido

Lungsod ng Sorsogon, September 29 (PIA) – Tatlong lokal na pamahalaan ang abalang-abala na ngayon dito sa Sorsogon para sa pag-arangkada ng malalaking aktibidad dito sa susunod na buwan.

Maliban sa dati nang pamoso at inaabangang Kasanggyahan Festival, ang kalipunan ng mga festival ng lalawigan ng Sorsogon, nakaiskedyul din ang Parau Festival ng bayan Pilar at Unod Festival ng Castilla, Sorsogon.

Mauunang buksan ang Unod Festival bukas ng hapon, Setyembre 30, sa pamamagitan ng banal na misa at Opening Program. Susundan ito ng isang press conference upang ipakilala ang konsepto at kahalagahan ng Unod Festival at iprisinta ang mga aktibidad na magaganap kaugnay ng pagdiriwang na ito. Ilan pa sa aabangang aktibidad bukas sa Castilla ay ang motorcade at Coronation Night ng Mutya ng Castilla.

Tampok sa Unod Festival ang mga natatanging yaman ng Castilla pagdating sa mga produktong agrikultural partikular ang mga halamang-ugat tulad ng kamote, kamoteng-kahoy at iba pang mga kahalintulad na produkto.

Magaganap naman sa Sabado, Oktubre. 1, ang isang Grand Opening Parade, ala-una ng hapon sa kahabaan ng lansangan ng lungsod ng Sorsogon na susundan ng isang seremonya alas-singko ng hapon para sa pagbubukas ng Kasanggayahan Festival. Sa gabi ay magkakaroon ng fireworks display na gagawin sa Balogo Complex, Sorsogon City.

Inaasahan ang pagdating ni Senator Francis Escudero, ng dalawang kongresista ng Sorsogon at ni Department of Tourism Bicol Regional Director Maria Ravanilla upang magbigay mensahe at suporta sa gagawing pagbubukas ng festival ng lalawigan.

Samantala, ipagdiriwang din ng bayan ng Pilar ang kanilang Parau Festival na nakatakda ring magsimula sa Sabado, Oktubre 1, na magtatagal hanggang sa ika-12 ng Oktubre sa araw ng kapistahan ng kanilang patron, ang Our Lady of Pillar.

Nakatuon ang pagdiriwang ng Parau Festival sa kultura at tradisyon ng Pilar. Ang Parau ay isang terminolohiyang Bisaya para sa sampu hanggang labing-anim na metrong haba ng bangka na ginamit ng mga mangingisda sa bayan ng Pilar partikular noong kapanahunan ng mga Espanyol dito sa bansa.

Ilan sa mga aktibidad na gaganapin sa Pilar ngayong Sabado ay ang Eco-Walk, Gipaw sa Pag-Omaw at Gabi ng Kulturang Parau. Ilang mga patimpalak din ang nakalinya sa loob ng labing-dalawang araw na pagdiriwang. (PIA Sorsogon)