Pantawid Pamilya capacitates parents in NorMin By Apipa P. Bagumbaran  CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, June 2 (PIA) -- Hundreds of parent-leaders of Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program are now ready to facilitate their fellow grantees for barangay-based sessions after undergoing empowerment as community volunteer leaders in Northern Mindanao. Belonging to the Program’s Set 5 areas, the volunteer parent-leaders from the towns of Maramag and Manolo Fortich an the cities of Malaybalay and Valencia, all of Bukidnon province; Jasaan, Villanueva, Tagoloan, and Opol municipalities of Misamis Oriental; Mambajao, Guinsiliban, and Catarman of Camiguin province; and Tangub City in Misamis Occidental underwent series of trainings using Modular Session Guide for Family Development Session (MSG-FDS), a modular tool designed to empower frontline development workers and community volunteer leaders. The separate and simultaneous trainings aim to enhance parental skills of the parent-beneficiaries in improving their family life. Arnold Jarn Ford Buhisan, training specialist of Pantawid Pamilya, disclosed that the capacity building and empowerment of the parent-beneficiaries are essential elements of the program to ensure its effectiveness, cost efficiency, relevance and sustainability. Buhisan added the volunteers will plan and facilitate discussions on personal matters, family and community issues along with effective parenting, home management, gender and development, children’s rights and protection, and relevant community matters. For her part, Atty. Araceli F. Solamillo, regional director of DSWD 10, said the training and the program per se is one way of upholding the total family development, an important factor in improving human capital towards the fulfillment of Pantawid Pamilya objectives. As the family is the most basic support systems of its member, she explained that the trainings are geared towards an improved delivery of health and education services to the children in order to attain social and economic development. Studies show that people in strong families are healthier, happier, better adjusted and more productive members of the society. Aside from the parent–leaders, the Municipal Links, LGU Links, and selected Municipal Inter-Agency Partners also attended the seminars. (Oliver Badel Inodeo, DSWD-10/APB, PIA-10) DOLE-10 advances greening program in Mis.Occ By Apipa P. Bagumbaran CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, June 2 (PIA) -- The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Northern Mindanao, through its provincial office in Misamis Occidental, recently conducted a tree growing activity at Barangay Bunga in Oroquieta City. Jose G. Robles, DOLE provincial head, said 45 participants coming from the DOLE Misamis Occidental Provincial Office, Public Employment Service Office (PESO) of Oroquieta City, and beneficiaries of the department’s Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) have planted 160 acacia seedlings along the riverbank of Layawan River in the said barangay. He said the tree-growing activity was in line with the department’s Green our DoLE Program (GODP) which aims to transform DOLE workplaces and project sites into cleaner, safer, and carbon-free environment. DOLE officials envision a happy and healthy workforce through the project, he further said. According to him, Barangay Bunga is the pilot area for the “adopt-a-barangay tree growing project,” while the area along Layawan River was identified by the local government as one of the watershed of Oroquieta City. He said the area will be regularly monitored to ensure 100 percent survival of the acacia seedlings. (Rolando M. Mahusay, DoLE-10/APB, PIA-10) DoLE-10 SRS produces masterlist of 27,304 skilled registrants By Apipa P. Bagumbaran CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, June 2 (PIA) -- Lawyer Johnson G. Cañete, regional director of the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) in Region 10 announced the successful implementation of the Skills Registry System (SRS), a revised version of the National Manpower Registry System and a Labor Market Information (LMI) tool in pilot local government units (LGUs). A total of 27,304 persons, aged 18 and above, who are looking for productive work, change their jobs or upgrade for better paying jobs, were registered for skills masterlisting. Pilot areas for the first wave implementation were LGUs of Lugait and Gingoog City in Misamis Oriental and Ozamiz City in Misamis Occidental while the second wave includes the LGUs of Mambajao in Camiguin, Malaybalay City and municipality of Quezon in Bukidnon, and Tubod in Lanao del Norte. Recently approved for third wave are Iligan City; Lala, Lanao del Norte; Tangub City and Sapang Dalaga, Misamis Occidental; Valencia City and Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon; Opol, Salay, Tagoloan, Jasaan municipalities of Misamis Oriental; Cagayan de Oro City; and Mahinog, Camiguin. The SRS program requires the Public Employment Service Office (PESO) in said LGUs to get the total list of skills and job vacancies suitable in the locality in the SRS form to capture the skills data from the registrants. The accomplished form will then be encoded in the desktop computer with the embedded SRS program. The computers were sourced by DOLE and given without cost to the said LGUs. According to Cañete, “data will then be accessed by the national government to assist in job-fit formulation and as a ready source of manpower of investors.” The capacity of the LGUs to generate the data is augmented by contracted employees of DOLE-10, a key strategy for success, Director Cañete said. (Mildred E. Dablio, DoLE-10/APB,PIA-10) Agri-business coop gets P300,000 grant from DOLE-10 By Apipa P. Bagumbaran CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, June 2 (PIA) -- The Nagkahiusang Miembro sa Mag-uumang Kapunongan Umagosnon Multi-Purpose Cooperative (NAMMUKAU MPC) of Umagos, Lagonglong in the province of Misamis Oriental received a livelihood grant amounting to P300,000 from the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Regional Office 10 last May 21. With the grant, NAMMUKAU MPC aims to produce quality lacatan banana, highly marketable in Cagayan de Oro City and neighboring municipalities of Misamis Oriental. The grant was intended to augment the income of its 150 members and expand its agri-enterprise business project. It will be used by the cooperative to purchase a transportation facility and construct its warehouse. According to Johnson G. Cañete , DOLE-10 Regional Director, the release of banana production livelihood grant was under the DOLE Self Reliant Organization for Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (SRO for CARP), a special project committed by the DoLE in the implementation of the CARP. The SRO-CARP Project aims to promote continuing employment and improve productivity and income of rural enterprises among agrarian reform beneficiary-cooperatives in selected CARP covered plantation and commercial farms. The cooperative, which is also a beneficiary of the Agrarian Reform Program of the government, has been highly recommended for a full-blown agri-business development by the national and regional governments for it has shown a good track record in successful implementation of goat raising and swine dispersal projects. Previously, DOLE-10 has released a banana trading fund to NAMMUKAU MPC worth P140,000, as well as, P200,00 for banana rehabilitation and production. (Mildred E. Dablio, DoLE-10/APB,PIA-10) DepEd Sec. Luistro tells teachers not to collect fees on opening of classes By Rutchie C. Aguhob OROQUIETA CITY, Misamis Occidental, June 2 (PIA) -– To minimize, if not eliminate, financial constraints among parents/guardians, during the opening of classes, no fees shall be collected from school children in kindergarten up to Grade 4 anytime, during School Year (SY) 2012-2013. Education Secretary Br. Armin A. Luistro issued this reminder in the Department of Education (DepEd) Order No. 41 issued last May 24, on the implementing policies in the collection of voluntary school contributions (VSC) to be strictly observed by all public elementary and secondary schools, nationwide. He said DepEd Order No. 41 is pursuant to the constitutional mandate to provide all Filipino learners with free basic education and to achieve the country’s targets for the Millennium Development Goal on universal primary education and DedEd’s objective of Education for All in 2015. Luistro, however, said starting August 2012, until the end of SY 2012-2013, the following may be collected only on voluntary basis: Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP) - P50/learner, Girls Scouts of the Philippines (GSP) - P50/learner, Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) - P35/learner and Anti-TB Fund Drive - P5/learner. Meanwhile, reasonable Parent-Teacher’s Association (PTA) fees are to be determined by the PTA General Assembly, school publication fee of P60 for every elementary pupil and P90 for every high school and membership in pupil/student organization are to be based on existing policies. The PTA may collect contributions starting August 2012 only after presenting to the members and to the school head/principal a report on the utilization of the previous school year’s collections and the SY 2012-2013 proposed budget with Program of Activities taking into consideration the amount of contributions to the PTA shall be agreed upon during the General Assembly pursuant to the DepEd Memo No. 54, s. of 2009 to be concurred by the school head. Secretary Luistro clarified that the concurrence of the school head/principal of the amount of voluntary school contributions shall not be interpreted to mean that the contributions are mandatory. Meanwhile, Misamis Occidental Schools Division Superintendent Jonathan S. Dela Peňa, who issued a Division Memorandum to this effect to all 16 districts under him, said the PTA are enjoined to refrain from setting exorbitant amounts of voluntary contributions. In consideration of the many expenses that parents incur in sending their children to school, the PTA’s are encouraged to minimize the amount of contributions for graduation ceremonies and extra-curricular activities, as well as, minimize requests for contributions “in-kind.” Also, the contributions to the PTA shall be on a per member basis, regardless of the number of children that the member has enrolled in the school. In support of Secretary Luistro’s order, Dela Peňa said the publication of the school paper, although not mandatory, is strongly encouraged in line with the promotion of the campus journalism program of the elementary and secondary levels. The school publication fee shall be set at the school level but elementary pupils shall not pay more than P60 and high school students, P90, Dela Peňa added. (PIA-Mis. Occ.) Xavier Ecoville temporary site completes transfer of 500 households CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, June 3 (PIA) -- Around 500 households who are tropical storm Sendong survivors have been transferred from evacuation centers and no-build zones to the Xavier University-led resettlement site, Xavier Ecoville, in barangay Lumbia. The ninth batch consisted of 116 households and the 10th batch, 57 households, rounding up the total number of households residing at Xavier Ecoville temporary shelters to 523. This concludes the transfer of households. The beneficiaries are now sheltered in wooden bunkhouses complete with basic facilities and some amenities. The ground blessing and padugo ritual of the permanent site was held on June 2. (EOR/Xyla Mercedita Gualberto-PIA10) DILG to hold summit on Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Misamis Oriental, June 3 (PIA) -- The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) will hold a series of regional summits aimed to promote advocacy on the local government’s institutionalization of disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation and mitigation measures. Dubbed “Tapatan on Disaster Preparedness and Climate Change Adaptation: A Call to Action,” the series of summits will be conducted in selected cities all over the country. In Region 10, it will be held on July 4, 2012 at Grand Caprice Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City. Regional Director Rene K. Burdeos said that these series of summits conducted by DILG, is in line with Republic Act No. 10121 or the Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010, to respond to the clamor of different sectors of society to strengthen the disaster preparedness efforts of local government units following the occurrence of various calamities in many parts of the country recently. Burdeos said target participants to the summit are all provincial governors, city and municipal mayors of Northern Mindanao. Other participants shall include the Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officers (LDRRMOs) as well as representatives from DRRM-CCA partner Regional Line Agencies, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs), Private Companies engaged in disaster-related corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects, Leaders of Communities at Risks, Press and Media Staff. At the end of the summit, participants are expected to sign a Pledge of Commitment for the disaster preparedness to show their firms resolve to carry out their respective local disaster risk reduction and management plans. (Ana Celeste W. Felisilda/DILG/PIA10)