DepEd says vacancies for school-based PCOS technicians open

By Rutchie C. Aguhob

OROQUIETA CITY, Misamis Occidental, Jan. 28 (PIA) -- Northern Mindanao needs 2,239 technicians who will form the Precinct Count Optical Scanning (PCOS) Machine Technical Support Personnel in the May 13 elections.

Lawyer Alberto T. Muyot, Undersecretary for Legal and Legislative Affairs of the Department of Education (DepEd), said these number of technicians will be assigned to: Misamis Oriental, 587; Bukidnon, 568; Lanao del Norte, 529; Misamis Occidental, 496; and Camiguin, 59.

Hence, Usec Muyot has requested the DepEd Regional Directors to nominate qualified interested school-based personnel, who may serve as PCOS technicians and supervisors to be submitted on or before January 31 for consolidation.

Minimum qualifications for the PCOS technicians is that he/she is computer literate with knowledge on basic computer operations, willing to be trained and physically fit.

The PCOS technicians must report any irregular condition of the PCOS machine before, during and after voting, and loss of equipment, parts of equipment, peripherals and inventory and sealing of the PCOS machines.

On the other hand, the PCOS supervisors are expected to have the same qualifications as the PCOS technicians, in addition to possessing at least one year of supervisory or managerial position.

They are also tasked to monitor and supervise the PCOS technicians and report to the National Support Center (NSC) all concerns/problems that cannot be solved in their level.

Meanwhile, the proposed honorarium for the PCOS Technicians/Supervisors is still being discussed but they will receive an additional training allowance pegged at P1,600 for the three-day training with free food and accommodation, Usec Mugot added. (RCA-PIA10, Misamis Occidental)

Regional body endorses designation of water quality management area

By Rutchie C. Aguhob

TANGUB CITY, Misamis Occidental, Jan. 28 (PIA) -- The Regional Development Council of Region 10 (RDC-10) has endorsed the proposal to designate a Water Quality Management Area (WQMA) in the water systems of Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental, and Bukidnon.

Designating a WQMA enables the formulation of focused interventions or actions designed to address specific water quality issues of the area, thus ensuring that Republic Act No. 9275 or the Philippine Clean Water Act of 2004 is enforced and water quality is improved.

To be known as the Cagayan de Oro-Misamis Oriental-Bukidnon River Systems Water Quality Management Area, the proposed WQMA, comprises 2,024 sq. km. with a perimeter of 219.215 km., that covers the following eight bodies of water:Iponan River, Cagayan de Oro River (CDO), Umalag River, Bigaan River, Agusan River, Alae River, Cugman River and Macajalr Bay Coastal area within CDO.

The WQMA will include the geopolitical jurisdictions of CDO, Bukidnon and the towns of Talakag, Baungon, Libona and Manolo Fortich, and Misamis Oriental and the towns of Tagoloan and Opol.

The Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of RA 9275, directs the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), in coordination with the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) to designate certain areas as WQMA using appropriate physiographic units, such as, watershed, river basin or water resources regions.

As proposed, the WQMA will be managed by a governing board chaired by DENR with representatives of mayors and governors of member local government units (LGUs), relevant government agencies, duly registered non-government organization NGOs, water utility sector and business sector, among others.

The project responds to the region’s development strategies as indicated in the Medium-term Regional Development Plan for 2011-2016, particularly, along the areas of water resources conservation for possible water access, sanitation, agriculture, industrial, eco-tourism uses, and biodiversity preservation. (RCA-PIA10)

Comelec successful in cleansing voters list in Lanao del Sur

By Apipa P. Bagumbaran

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Jan 28 (PIA) -- The efforts of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to cleanse the list of registered voters in the province has met with success.

The number of registered voters in Lanao del Sur went down by 33 percent to 350,268 after the voters registration held last July in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said Provincial Election Supervisor Nasib Yasin.

Of this new record, 201,589 are registered in the first district of the province while 148,679 are in the second district.

The 10-day general registration was part of the national government’s effort to reform electoral system in the region.

According to Yasin, a total of 521,969 voters were registered in the province prior to the re-registration.

He said the poll body was satisfied with the process as the voters’ registration records were now cleansed.

Meanwhile, Yasin said Comelec will ensure that it will all it can to attain clean, honest, and peaceful elections in the province.

He also urged his counterpart in the Provincial Joint Security Control Center, particularly the Provincial Police and the 103rd Infantry Brigade, to strictly implement the ban on the carrying of firearms. (APB-PIA 10)

BJMP holds firing proficiency training for jail officers

By Ruby Leonora R. Balistoy

MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon, Jan 28 (PIA) -- Twenty-nine officers of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) recently went through a Firing Proficiency Training (FPT).

S/Insp Guy Jason Reyes, Malaybalay City jail warden, who supervised the aptitude exercise, said this would hone the shooting skills of the jail officers, as criminals are also becoming sophisticated nowadays.

“We truly had hard times in our finances and groundwork preparations for this FPT but with the support of Malaybalay city government, were able to rush through the activity before the Election gun ban takes effect”, Reyes said.

He pointed out that the training is one of the urgent needs of the jail officers as this will help them in tackle crises situations such as breakouts or in dealing with inmates who are aggressive, dangerous, or threatening.

The FPT was done in three phases. At first, both men and women were to fire 10 bullets each on a 10-meter distance. The second phase was the obstacle round with a minimum of 19 bullets each and the last stage, the team relay.

Adopting the International Defense Pistol Association (IDPA) scoring system, shooters were scored individually, where a participant is classified whether he is a sharpshooter, a marksman, or just a shooter.

The rating will then serve as the evaluation. Those who ranked low in the training will be prioritized for the next FPT.

After the training, the BJMP personnel were given five bullets each to fire the shotgun to familiarize with the firearms they use daily.

BJMP personnel Ernesto Dipo said this is a good time to improve and sharpen their skills in shooting and review gun rules and safety so they could apply the techniques in times of difficult situations. (Iyren Ardines Dalipe, BSU DevCom/ RLRB-PIA10, Bukidnon)

Comelec reiterates campaign guidelines for 2013 polls

By Apipa P. Bagumbaran

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Jan. 27 (PIA) -- An official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has reiterated some of the campaign guidelines for the coming midterm elections.

The poll body has limited the air time of each candidates in campaigning through television and radio stations, said Comelec Commissioner Elias Yusoph during the election 2013 summit held last week, here.

Accordingly, each candidate for national positions is entitled to 120 minutes to advertise and campaign through television and 180 minutes through radio.

Candidates running for local positions, on the other hand, are only allowed 60 minutes of television advertising and 90 minutes for radio advertising.

Yusoph clarified that appearance of a candidate in a news interview or documentary shall not be considered a broadcast election propaganda if it is incidental to the presentation of the subject covered by the news interview or documentary.

He, however, emphasized that television or radio stations inviting candidates as guests to a broadcast program has to notify the Commission before they can start the program.

The poll body also requires candidates to post or display propaganda materials in designated common poster areas only.

Election Officers can remove the propaganda materials and file a case against a candidate violating this rule, he added.

With regards to the campaign finance, Yusoph said candidates are required to submit their Statement of Contributions and Expenditures to the Commission.

He said a winning candidate cannot take his oath if he failed to submit such statement.

Failure to comply will also perpetually disqualify a candidate to hold public office, he added. (APB/PIA-10)

TESDA 10 conducts training on Assessment Methodology

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Jan. 27 (PIA) -- The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Region 10 conducted a three-day training on assessment methodology to increase the participation of trainers and industry practitioners in the implementation of assessment and certification, particularly in specialized qualifications.

The “Trainers Course in Assessment Methodology,” held last January 16-18 at MASS SPECC Hotel here, was participated in by 25 prospective assessors in different TESDA training qualifications.

The training program was designed to equip the participants with the necessary knowledge, skills and desirable work values in the conduct of assessment. It aims to further enhance the knowledge and capability of trainers in delivering Conduct of Competency Assessment.

Some of the topics covered during the three-day training program include accreditation process, desirable work values of an assessor, concept and principle of 5S, planning and organizing competency, and assessing competence, among others.

After the training program, participants will be assessed and certified to become an accredited competency assessor of TESDA. (Honey Analou E. Dona, TESDA-10/APB, PIA-10)

Camiguin reports P20M completed infra in 2012

By Jorie C. Valcorza

MAMBAJAO, Camiguin, Jan 28 (PIA) -- Farm-to-market road (FMR) projects worth P20 million had been completed in 2012, to include the first phase construction of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC) building and the rehabilitation of the Lawigan Water System.

The said amount had been sourced from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), Department of Agriculture (DA), and the Provincial local Government Unit Fund (PLGU).

The new FMR projects were placed in bBrangay San Isidro, Sitio Datag to Sitio Mapa, Benoni to San Miguel and Sitio Langkangan of Mahinog town.

For Mambajao, it includes the concreting of the Agoho-Catubli Road, Sitio Lumand FMR, Sitio Purok 2 FMR, and the improvement of shoulder road in Lakas-Pandan junction.

The project likewise covers the concreting of Langkangan road in Catarman town.

Governor Jurdin Jesus M. Romualdo said that aside from the road and drainage development project, the PLGU has lined up the construction of an additional ramp in Benoni port in the amount of P80 million.

He said flood control projects will also be initiated in all five municipalities through PDAF and that they have likewise outsourced an P35 million development fund for airport flood control. (JCV-PIA)